Breezing through security with a new laptop case
Laptop-toting air travelers may soon not need to remove their PCs from their cases for inspection at security checkpoints.
Pathfinder Luggage and Targus, two of the largest luggage manufacturers, are working with the Transportation Security Administration to manufacture “checkpoint friendly” laptop cases which should be available by late September or early October.
The story was first reported by USA Today’s Thomas Frank and later picked up by Joe Sharkey, a blogger and contributor to The New York Times.
The problem with current cases is that often the view of the laptop, as it goes through the scanner, is obscured by power cords, batteries, and mice. The new cases include either a fold-down section in a bigger briefcase or a stand-alone protective sleeve that contains no extra clutter and can be readily viewed through the scanner.
Ron Davis, an executive vice president at Pathfinder says two of the new cases are made of nylon and foam and he’s certain that the X-ray machines should have no problems seeing through the materials.
His company is producing two types of cases. One is a briefcase in which the attached laptop holder is exposed when the case is unzipped. The other is a wheeled carry-on with a removable laptop case. Prices for the briefcase style will range from $100 to $150 and the wheeled version will sell between $150 and $200.
One of the first bags that Targus will roll out is a backpack design. It will sell for $39 for the basic model or $100 for the heavy-duty version.
TSA director Kip Hawley says that the new bags “should be designed with ’self-evident features,’ including an absence of buckles, pockets or zippers.”
The makers could label it as “checkpoint-friendly” or use similar terms, but they could not state nor imply that the bags were certified or approved by the T.S.A. or use a T.S.A. logo on them.
Hopefully, as more and more business travelers use these new bags, the delays at the TSA checkpoint will be a lot shorter.
Now, if they could only do something about our shoes …
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7 Responses to “Breezing through security with a new laptop case”
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Yeah right. The TSA people are going to know all the different laptop cases so they know which ones are allowed through without the laptop being taken out?
It will still be a case of “remove laptop from bag”.
I agree with Aaron. I have a few shoes that were supposedly TSA - Friendly and they still make me take them off.
The agents will cover their asses 100% of the time for fear of letting a bad one through. So it will be take the computer from the case sir… and if you don’t comply, break out the rubber gloves!
Aaron’s right, but even if they ever learn which cases are good and which are not, I take issue with some of the comments of TSA and the bag manufacturers.
Before I comment further, I must say I rarely, if ever, see business travelers slowing down the TSA security lines. It’s the once a year vacationer usually choking the line due to a lack of TSA security rule savvy. Business travelers, and in fact most every traveler with a laptop, knows the TSA drill and move through the line quickly.
Ron Davis, an executive vice president at Pathfinder said two of the new cases will be made of nylon and foam. He’s certain that the X-ray machines should have no problems seeing through the materials. I agree Ron, but that’s what most every laptop case is already made of, and that’s not the issue with the cases. The issue is TSA says they can’t see the laptop clearly because of the accessories in the bag, or they can’t see the accessories because of the laptop.
A fold-down section would solve that, but I’m not at all sure I want an open bag rolling down that conveyor belt. Plus I’ve seen a mock up of most of the TSA design Skooba and Targus bags and they don’t cut it for me.
Forget the wheeled case as far as I’m concerned. I need that bag for my valuables, medications (You can’t put that stuff in your checked in luggage since the airlines refuse to assume any liability for them, plus they would be too open to theft in checked in luggage) toiletries, and a complete change of clothes (With the airlines’ horrendous record of loosing or seriously delaying checked-in luggage you’ve got to carry-on a change of clothes), plus some other odds and ends such as my noise canceling headset and iPod.
Targus says it will roll out is a backpack design for $39 for the basic model. Ahem, $39? How long will that last in transit, your first flight?
TSA director Kip Hawley says that the new bags “should be designed with ’self-evident features,’ including an absence of buckles, pockets or zippers.” OK Kip, but please don’t tell me you want these bags to use velcro to secure a $2,000 and up laptop.
Personally I won’t be buying any of these bags soon, nor will most people I know. I’m content to put my Dell in the bin for inspection. Even if widely adopted by business travelers, I think these new bags will have little impact on the time it takes to get through security, but getting TSA to uniformly and consistently enforce their rules, and getting TSA to actually give their agents quality training might actually help. Ya think?
Ned–good points and I agree the business traveler does not tie up the line as they do know what to do. But imagine how fast the line COULD go if they did not need to jump through all those hoops?
It seems common sense starts to creep into the TSA behavior! I’ve used a sleeve for a long time and have to remove the laptop each time from it….! So maybe this silliness will now stop. When will they realize that belts are not explosive devices and shoe bombs would require more than a regular sole found on 99.9% of shoes people wear……?
If common sence were creeping into TSA behavior, they would:
- Check IDs against the actual passenger manifests, or check them at the gate, not against something I can duplicate in Illustrator on my PC at home.
- Drop the senseless ban on liquids - the explosives they are looking for don’t actually exist.
- Screen the ground crew as well as the passengers.
What the TSA does at checkpoints is security theater. It’s a collection of largely ineffective procedures intended to reassure the public that something is being done.
Pathfinder Luggage will take preorders of the new Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bag by contacting 1-800-759-9738. Pathfinder has posted tips on how to be sure that your bag is Checkpoint Friendly at http://www.PathfinderLuggage.com.