So I get this press release from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) saying it has given its blessing to several checkpoint friendly laptop bags so we’ll no longer have to remove our computers during screening. You can read my Aviation Daily story (subscribers only) here.
I guess this is good news, since those of us who travel frequently want the screening process to move as quickly as possible. But I keep asking -- why not just cut out the middle man and make x-ray machines -- like my beloved COBRA AutoEDS -- that allow flyers to keep laptops in the bag of their choice.
But I digress. Standards for checkpoint friendly bags include: a designated laptop-only section; the laptop-only section completely unfolds to lay flat on the x-ray belt; no metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on top of the laptop-only section; no pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section; and nothing packed in the laptop-only section other than the computer itself.
TSA did not give me the names of companies with approved bags, but noted that more than 60 manufacturers responded and 40 submitted prototypes for testing. “There is not a set list – TSA put out standards to the industry and any manufacturer can produce the bags,” said spokeswoman Sterling Payne. You can click here to see a TSA video on the subject.
So I decided to try out my new toy – the Help A Reporter Out web site. Journalists can submit requests for stories they are working on, while public relations practitioners and subject matter experts can respond to reporters’ queries. I received more than 10 replies from bag manufacturers for my query, so I’m quite pleased with the service.
I started out by chatting with Kate Trgovac, a social media consultant who also blogs about laptop bags at Squidoo. I am personally attached to my Victorinox digital backpack, which is not laptop friendly, while she likes her Timbuk2 backpack and Rickshaw messenger bag.
So I asked Trgovac if she thought people would switch to the checkpoint friendly bags. “For these new ones, there will be a certain subset of people who will make the change, like people who don’t have to buy their own bags,” she said.
Trgovac applauded TSA for working with the manufacturers to get the new bags to the market so quickly. Among the bags she’s seen, she likes the one made by Tom Bihn the best. “It’s really clever. It has a trifold design. It looks like a piece of luggage with a nice color palette. It folds out so that the computer is isolated,” she said.
Travelers want bags that are super functional and good looking because they use them to Express their personal side, said Trgovac. “It will take time for TSA to train their screeners to look for the new bags, and consumers will have to get used to it too,” she stated.
I received way too many responses to put them all in this post, but I will list the manufacturers who responded to my query, in order they were received, below.
Pathfinder Luggage
Targus
Case Logic
Casauri
Ogio
Mobile Edge
Tom Bihn
