Lap top and tablet ban

[G-CPTN]

About ten years ago, I had a laptop that needed to be returned under warranty for repair.
A courier arrived with a hard-shelled case that was filled with foam padding and the laptop was dropped (gently) in the case, the case was sealed and the combination was taken away (with appropriate identification of sender and destination attached).

It worked so well - maybe airlines could lease out cases that could then be 'thrown' into a cargo hold without risking damage (or theft) of the contents?

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by G-CPTN

It worked so well - maybe airlines could lease out cases that could then be 'thrown' into a cargo hold without risking damage (or theft) of the contents?

I'd suggest it worked well only because your consignment was under the jurisdiction of the courier for the entire journey from door to door.

If there's one thing I can think of that would be worse than being forced to put my laptop in my hold baggage, it would be packaging it separately and clearly indicating on the outside of the package what the contents are - my expectation of ever seeing it again after a flight would be close to zero.

[G-CPTN]

Originally Posted by DaveReidUK

I'd suggest it worked well only because your consignment was under the jurisdiction of the courier for the entire journey from door to door.

Almost true, however, the courier who collected the item was a local (ie not national/international) firm and the laptop was going from England to Germany.
Admittedly it was 'faulty' (and therefore of lesser value) - but the packaging did not declare that (unless you looked inside the sealed box - or deduced that it was being returned for repair).

I was impressed by the efficiency (of a courier turning up within a couple of hours of my call and saying "Just put it in here, Mate."
No fuss, no sweat.

[ExXB]

Laptop cabin ban 'ineffective' says IATA

Laptop cabin ban 'ineffective' says IATA

Laptop cabin ban 'ineffective' says IATA

[configsafenot]

The new rule won't work cos too many business folk will kick up a storm at check in over it and since alot of airlines earn megabucks from the business community, they won't bite the hand that feeds

In theory its a good rule but as with most things done as a kneejerk it never really works out in practice and ends up being binned

[BEagle]

An interesting article from a couple of years ago:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulli...subsidies-gulf

[ExXB]

Configssafenot - interesting handle btw.

I doubt that 'storms at check-in' is going to be the real challenge. Anyone with a laptop or tablet is giung to be aware of the ban. They may not be happy with it, but they won't be ignorant of it.

The real challenge to the ME3/TK and a few others is that business customers will be booking away from them. Not on the US3, as they don't fly everywhere their customers want to go, but on airlines with 6th freedom connections via their own hubs. If I was at one of the affected airlines I would be monitoring my future bookings and cancellations.

There is no way for anyone else to monitor what the real impact is, but keep an eye on business class prices. This will be an indication of how hard they are hurting.

This applies in Economy as well as some, likely a lower percentage, want to be on-line all the time. They likely will go via Europe and/or pay a little more for the privilege.

[OldLurker]

Originally Posted by ExXB

I doubt that 'storms at check-in' is going to be the real challenge. Anyone with a laptop or tablet is giung to be aware of the ban..

It will be a minor challenge to the check-in and security people. Some pax, aware or not, will turn up with their devices and argue with the staff. I suspect the most time will be wasted by parents whose kiddies must have their iPads or they'll go ape (the kiddies, not the iPads). Such kiddies will probably go ape at some point in the flight anyway - I dread being seated anywhere near that kind of family.

This applies in Economy as well as some, likely a lower percentage, want to be on-line all the time.

Yes, because many of us now have to fly economy instead of business. Whether or not we want to be on-line (connected to the internet) all the time, many of us do want to get some work done during the flight. Personally I don't do any of the affected countries at present, but if I did, I'd certainly fly via somewhere like Schiphol or CDG.

As far as I can make out, whatever the US said at first, the US ban now applies to all direct flights from certain countries (they list airports, but AFAIK those are the only ones with direct flights from those countries), while the UK ban applies to all direct flights from a different set of countries. Go figure, as they say.

[JEM60]

Flew out of Aqaba with Thomson last night. My hold baggage was 'X rayed', but not opened. My wife had her tablet in her hold baggage, it was 'X rayed', found to be there, and she had to take it out, then switch it on and off in front of the Security guard. She could then have had it in her hand luggage, but chose not to do so. It took little time to get all pax through, and was not as difficult as we thought when on the Cruise ship.

[Basil]

I guess docs could be printed and ammended/answered by hand and typed up later - less so with spreadsheets

[STBYRUD]

One of the core issues for us is the question if crew are included in this ban or not - the official announcements completely omit any mention of crews. I am curious, if you work for any of the affected airlines, have your employers put rules in place not to take PEDs with you on US or UK flights?

[Denti]

Even more interesting, if you have to use notebooks or tablets as part of your flight deck duties, are you allowed to continue to use them or not? Or do the affected carriers have to go back to paper documentation?

[ExXB]

http://www.pprune.org/9715466-post140.html

EY have announced they will be loaning iPads to their F/J passengers as well. Must be some security involved, but a good move.

[STBYRUD]

Thanks ExXB - could you send me a quotable source for that? I have a few people to convince in middle management

[bjones4]

In a similar move to Etihad, Qatar have announced their 'Laptop Loan' service for Business class passengers where you can pick up a Laptop at the gate for use throughout the flight.

[India Four Two]

Oh, the irony!

Just checked in online for an Air Canada flight YYC-FRA

Portable electronic devices and spare batteries MUST be carried in the cabin

My emphasis. Ironically, I was planning to check one of the two laptops I'm carrying, to avoid the security hassle.

[aox]

Originally Posted by DaveReidUK

I'd suggest it worked well only because your consignment was under the jurisdiction of the courier for the entire journey from door to door.

If there's one thing I can think of that would be worse than being forced to put my laptop in my hold baggage, it would be packaging it separately and clearly indicating on the outside of the package what the contents are - my expectation of ever seeing it again after a flight would be close to zero.

Indeed, but even ordinary couriers can lose a laptop.

A friend sent an aircraft part to a customer, in an old box with PC written on the outside.

It never arrived.

[configsafenot]

Here's one airline circumventing in style......

Qatar Airways to offer free laptops on US flights | Daily Mail Online

[OldLurker]

Hm. Daily Mail's good for a heads-up, maybe, but for more information go to the source: Qatar Airways Offers Free Laptops On U.S. Flights. Business class only, of course.

But, but ... No information in the press release about security, digital or physical; certainly no guarantees. They say "bring your USB stick and plug it into our laptop." Yeah, right. No sane person would take up such an offer. What software is on the laptop? Am I certain that my data won't be copied for industriual espionage or social-engineering scams? No. Am I certain that no hidden software will be installed on my USB stick and propagated onto my company's network? No.
They say "we'll load your prohibited electronic item as check-in baggage and return it safely to you on arrival to the US." Really? On arrival your vital laptop, full of your company's confidential data (and maybe yours) is missing. They say "Sorry, your laptop failed to arrive. We'll locate it and get it to you as soon as possible." Finally they admit that it's lost (they won't admit, stolen) and offer you as little as they can get away with for the purchase price of an equivalent laptop. Gee, thanks for nothing.
OK, Qatar Airways have a reputation to lose, but it might be some time, if ever, before people discover that their data have been stolen or that trojans have been installed on their USB sticks.

One remote possibility: bring a bootable USB stick with plenty of memory, such that you can work entirely from it without needing the hard disk, and a screwdriver set, and knowledge of how to do the following: After takeoff, check [1] whether their laptop can be booted from a USB stick, and if so [2] whether the hard disk can be removed (i.e. it's not a modified laptop with access inside the case prevented). If yes to both, carefully remove the hard disk, then boot from your USB stick and get on with your work. Before landing, replace the hard disk. Even that's not 100% secure, but hacking would need extra skill and sophistication.

However, there's something positive: read to the end and you'll see that Qatar Airways is providing an hour of free wi-fi for everyone and only $5 for the whole flight.

[GrahamO]

Or just buy one of these

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002OKCXE

You'll cope.