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9/05/2008 – Weekly Roundup: Protecting Your Bags In Airports; The TSA’s New Security Line Scheme; The North Face Surge Backpack

Web: www.fishfotoworldwide.com — E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com

9/05/2008 – Weekly Roundup: Protecting Your Bags In Airports; The TSA’s New Security Line Scheme; The North Face Surge Backpack

This week started for me at Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport (AMS) where I would take off probably for the last Trans-Atlantic flight of my life on an airline I have had a long standing love/hate relationship with. This is not because I am quitting flying, nor am I dying, it is not even because the airline is going away. My flight on Northwest Airlines (NW)Flight 97, from AMS to BDL, is probably my last over-the-water flight on NW because they will soon become part of Delta Airlines. In a few short months, as Northwest and Delta navigate the business and political maze of airline mergers this flight (if it survives the route restructuring) will be on a white plane with a red-white-blue tail rather than on a silver plane with the easy to spot red tail.

It is unclear to me whether the long standing Northwest-KLM partnership will become the Delta-KLM partnership. I used to love watching the rare sight of Northwest/KLM DC-10 fly over my parents house that was painted in Northwest colours on the body and the KLM logo on tail on one side, and the KLM colours on the body and the Northwest logo on the tail on the other side. The partnership between the two airlines is deep, unique and I’m not sure how it will continue under the new Delta merger.

On what I believe to be my final Northwest Airlines Trans-Atlantic flight I chose to sit in seat 1A at the front of the plane. I sat back and worked for the 7+ hour flight, but upon our approach into BDL I watched the red-winglets of Northwest 757-200 touch down for probably the last time in my life as a passenger. Goodbye Northwest Airlines.

Flying With Fish kicked off the week with a two part entry on keeping your bags safe while in transit and in the airport. Both entries are simple and basic ways to secure your bags to keep unwanted hands from either entering your bags or walking off with your bags. You can get tips on securing your bags at the following entries
6/05/2008 – Protecting Your Bags In The Airports 101 – Part 1
7/05/2008 – Protecting Your Bags In The Airports 101 – Part 2

After many years of flying around with the North Face Borealis backpack I have been using the newer North Face Surge backpack for the last month. After flying with this backpack for nearly 30,000 miles in the last month, taking it over the Atlantic 3 times, over the Pacific once and crossing through 7 countries with it on my back I have learned that I really enjoy the North Face Surge backpack. You can read my full review of this fantastic bag here: 8/05/2008 – The North Face Surge Backpack – An Updated Version Of An Old Favourite

The last entry on Flying With Fish this week addresses the TSA’s new innovative way to try and shorten security line times in the United States. The new concept is interesting, it has some great potential, while it also has the potential also slow up the process as well. How is it possibly fantastic and terrible at the same time? The new system depends on passengers self governing themselves to accurately know their skills as a traveler. I hope it works, I hope people are honest when they enter the new “Self Select” lines, because this new system can make everyone’s life easier. Read the details on the TSA’s Self Select System here: 8/05/2008 – New TSA “Self Select” Security Lanes – The Good & The Bad

Below is an old promo photo of the old Northwest-KLM DC-10-30 that I used to enjoy watching fly over my parents house in New York.

Happy Flying!

–Click Image Below To Enlarge–
a plane on the runway


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