Soon Laptops not allowed as carry-on

[Sunset]

To solve this, install virtual box on the laptop (perhaps just on top of linux) and set have the person run a virtual machine where they do all their work. You would bring a set up vm on a flash stick, and when turning the laptop in, put the vm back onto the flash drive leaving no easily found record on the laptop. This also has the advantage that folks can have the apps they desire, and allows the laptop renter to reimage on return since there is no data that has any value left on the laptop. Further the VM could by any version of windows the user desires.

Good idea, the VM could of course be Linux as well

So I've been trying out my phone, I hooked up a bluetooth keyboard and it works pretty well, the phone (Windows 10) recognized it right away. It makes the typing easy for me as I'm a touch typer and hate the little popup keyboard that blocks a good portion of the screen.

I also downloaded and tested out for Budapest a tripadvisor app, and it looks very handy for tourist ideas, plus an easy way to map directions. Of course this does require wifi, but I'll have it some of the time.
I also downloaded a Windows Map app, and installed the maps for all the countries I'll visit, its similar to google maps or mapquest so I can get directions for walking.

 

[Fedup]

If this ban really is going to happen then I use my cell phone. Maybe revert to no phone at all. How is that for a novel idea? If I stay longer in Europe, I might just buy a cheap tablet for the 8-9 weeks I will be there. Best yet check my cheap old tablet on the luggage. I'm sure there are many options to ponder.

 

[Sojourner]

I must be an oddball but I love to fly. Yes, security and such can be a hassle, but overall it does not last that long. The thought of soaring around the globe at 30,000 feet is awe inspiring. Last year on a return trip we flew over Greenland on a clear sunny day. Great views of a part of the world I had never seen before.

+1

It's not that I love the process of flying, but I do love traveling and seeing those sweeping vistas of land and ocean way below. Can be a truly majestic, sublime experience at times. And as for the original topic, I tend to just listen to music on my phone while flying, and if it's a long, transoceanic flight, I take a few Xanax and end up sleeping for like 80% of the flight anyway. I'm not much for watching movies on flights or playing video games or things like that. I just want to be relaxed and mostly zonked out to make the hours pass quicker.

 

[mickeyd]

Since I would rather improve my odds of not being blown up in a plane, I agree that those devices, as well as cell phones, be banned from all flights, foreign and domestic.


Seems like I recall making numerous flights 20-30 years ago w/o such devices and I don't recall any explosions.


Staying alive is a better option that being dead.

 

[kcowan]

This could change everything. I predict the return of the hard-copy book and thumbdrives. And laptop rental kiosks at airports everywhere.

How about iPad rentals on the plane ($6.95) on Westjet.

 

[Alan]

Since I would rather improve my odds of not being blown up in a plane, I agree that those devices, as well as cell phones, be banned from all flights, foreign and domestic.


Seems like I recall making numerous flights 20-30 years ago w/o such devices and I don't recall any explosions.


Staying alive is a better option that being dead.

I agree with the ban on laptops if credible evidence is available, which it almost certainly is, but let us not kid ourselves that 20 or 30 years ago airliners did not get blown out of the skies by terrorist bombs.

On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182, a Boeing 747-237B crashed off the southwest coast of Ireland when a bomb exploded in the cargo hold. All 307 passengers and 22 crew members died.

On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103, a Boeing 747–121 bound for New York–JFK from London–Heathrow with continued service to Detroit, was destroyed by a terrorist bomb over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland. All 243 passengers and 16 crew, and 11 people on the ground (all residents of Sherwood Crescent, Lockerbie), died.

 

[6miths]

Glad I am flying in and out of Canada to Europe this summer. And a bummer for the airlines who have figured out how to take all of the in seat LCD screens out their planes, saving the cost, maintenance and weight, by streaming entertainment via wifi to passengers laptops and likely soon to be banned iPads.

 

[Sarah S]

I am more afraid of the risk of fire in the hold if people check their bags with laptops etc in them. There are documented cases of cabin fires from laptops and other devices that crews were able to extinguish. Fires in the hold can not be fought by crew in flight

carry ons could be subjected to multiple screening measures- annoying, time consuming, expensive but possible to mitigate the terrorist risk. The accidental fire risk can not be screened for.

The other highly unpopular option is to ban the items outright which is perhaps what mickey meant?

 

[audreyh1]

So this was supposed to go into effect on 5/12/17 but major pushback from the EU (due to devices in hold concerns) delayed it?

 

[FUEGO]

They showed how Emirates handles laptops. They soft pack them in special boxes and seal them. An extra step but seems to be efficient.

Looks like Emirates will check them for free. Anyone know if other Arab-based carriers check laptops for free?

We're flying to Europe in less than a month for a 9 week stay and plan on bringing 3 tablets (1 for each kid) and 2 ultralight 13" notebooks (purchased specifically for this trip :/ ). The flights to/from Europe are pretty short at 7-8 hours, one of which is a redeye so not too bad if we're stuck using phones and the inside of our eyelids to shield us from boredom. But I feel sorry for whoever has to sit near my energy-filled 5 year old if he can't have a tablet for 8 hours. Maybe I can invest in a few extra Benadryl. Do they still allow those to be carried aboard or are they checked-luggage only?

 

[Sunset]

Currently flying from the US, you can carry-on Benadryl and laptops. It's the flight back from Europe that you could have a problem..

 

[HFWR]

Looks like Emirates will check them for free. Anyone know if other Arab-based carriers check laptops for free?



We're flying to Europe in less than a month for a 9 week stay and plan on bringing 3 tablets (1 for each kid) and 2 ultralight 13" notebooks (purchased specifically for this trip :/ ). The flights to/from Europe are pretty short at 7-8 hours, one of which is a redeye so not too bad if we're stuck using phones and the inside of our eyelids to shield us from boredom. But I feel sorry for whoever has to sit near my energy-filled 5 year old if he can't have a tablet for 8 hours. Maybe I can invest in a few extra Benadryl. Do they still allow those to be carried aboard or are they checked-luggage only?

Five year olds should be stored in the cargo hold. Some adults as well...

 

[Bamaman]

Virtually every international traveler has a communication device in this day and time. I carry a Chromebook that's very lightweight--$159. If I lose it or break it, there's not much of a loss because it's really just an empty hulk of a computer--nothing worthwhile in memory.

My regular laptop stays at home locked up in the safe--in case I need to do heavier work than checking my emails. I figure it's secure there.

 

[ivinsfan]

If I really needed a tablet I might consider having Amazon ship me one of their $50 7 inch Fire tablets to where I am staying. Logon with my Id and it would be ready to go. At the end of the trip, delete everything (I would never load it up with important data) and give it to the person who cleaned my room every day.

I must be an oddball but I love to fly. Yes, security and such can be a hassle, but overall it does not last that long. The thought of soaring around the globe at 30,000 feet is awe inspiring. Last year on a return trip we flew over Greenland on a clear sunny day. Great views of a part of the world I had never seen before.

FYI for good wifi hook-up be sure you order a model that has dual wifi bands..I bought a small single band one on a fire sale since I don't have a smart phone..the single bands are not reliable to hookups to wifi systems in my experience. In fact I found it useless and gave it to my grandson to play games on..I have a dual wifi band fire that will hookup to anything with no problem.

 

[Live And Learn]

I am so happy to be retired so that I no longer have to be concerned with carrying a laptop around. I guess the only difference this year is that I will bring a paperback book instead of a Kindle or tablet. Oh wait .... I did that last year too ! Living a simple life does have it's benefits

 

[FUEGO]

Five year olds should be stored in the cargo hold. Some adults as well...

I'd be up for it if it was pressurized and climate controlled. Lay flat seats for the price of coach (or maybe less since this would be steerage class seating!). Sign me up!

Re: the five year olds - it'll be a lot worse if they can't have tablets

 

[imoldernu]

This thread could become political.

 

[timo2]

Maybe they can bring back google glasses to replace laptops

 

[socca]

I hate long international flights. A consolation is being able to 'work' on my laptop (it looks like work to other people, but it's play for me). Taking away my computer is a huge disincentive for international travel - too bad. The numerous tools I need to install means that any kind of loaner/rental fallback won't work.

 

[rodi]

On Wednesday (5/17/17) the EU and US are meeting to hash it all out. Expect a ban (or not) to happen soon after the meeting.

U.S., EU to meet on airline security on Wednesday: EU Commission | Article [AMP] | Reuters

 

[Sunset]

I hate long international flights. A consolation is being able to 'work' on my laptop (it looks like work to other people, but it's play for me). Taking away my computer is a huge disincentive for international travel - too bad. The numerous tools I need to install means that any kind of loaner/rental fallback won't work.

A loaner/rental would work, I use a loaner and give it my home computer work environment.
Here is how:

You can install a Virtual Machine, example: "Virtual Box" on your computer. It's like a computer inside your computer. Then you install all the applications you want on the Virtual Machine (VM).
Then it's just like being on your computer, except you are really on a VM on your computer.

Now this the the fantastic part: You can export the VM to a file, mine is about 15 Gigs in size.
Then on any computer with just the basic Virtual Box installed, I can import my VM and I have my entire computer to use. I use it and save files etc, then export it to a file again, take it home and import it onto my home computer and it's just like I had taken my home computer with me as all the new work is there, along with any new programs I might have installed.

On a rental, you would of course delete the VM from the rental computer after exporting it to your thumbdrive, and it helps to use an OS on your VM that encrypts the entire VM drive.

 

[Christine]

I hate long international flights. A consolation is being able to 'work' on my laptop (it looks like work to other people, but it's play for me). Taking away my computer is a huge disincentive for international travel - too bad. The numerous tools I need to install means that any kind of loaner/rental fallback won't work.

That is what I was trying to say. But you put it better.

I'm starting to think about if 5 days on QMII with my laptop wouldn't be preferable to a day on a plane without it.

 

[gerntz]

I am more afraid of the risk of fire in the hold if people check their bags with laptops etc in them. There are documented cases of cabin fires from laptops and other devices that crews were able to extinguish. Fires in the hold can not be fought by crew in flight

carry ons could be subjected to multiple screening measures- annoying, time consuming, expensive but possible to mitigate the terrorist risk. The accidental fire risk can not be screened for.

The other highly unpopular option is to ban the items outright which is perhaps what mickey meant?

Could store them in oxygen-free containers. Pump N2 into them on the ground & seal valves. Just don't expect to get them on if arrive less than 1/2 hr prior to flight.

 

[imoldernu]

Why the possible ban?

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-16/race-to-prevent-airline-terror-turns-to-laptops-thin-bombs

Information on how much explosive is required to bring down an airliner is classified, but a device placed next to the fuselage or a potentially volatile fuel tank would require a less powerful charge to be catastrophic. If detonated at cruising altitude, even a small amount of explosive could blow a hole in the side of a plane, causing a violent decompression that could rip the aircraft apart.

It's never a problem, until it's a problem.

A 3T or 4T Drive might be a possibility, coupled with laptop rentals at destination. Solid state hard drives are in the works, for up to 15T.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3040208/data-storage/samsung-ships-the-worlds-highest-capacity-ssd-with-15tb-of-storage.html

 

[socca]

You can install a Virtual Machine, example: "Virtual Box" on your computer.

I've run Windows 7 inside a VM on my Mac, but have never tried to run MacOS inside a VM on Windows. I'm doing software development on MacOS (among other things) - one of the more demanding applications. Nevertheless, your idea is worth keeping in mind - thanks for the heads-up.