Ellen Barone

Okay, I admit it. I thought expensive noise reduction earphones were just another fad for people with more money than sense. That was until an American Airlines business class flight to France with complimentary noise cancelling headphones changed my mind. Muting out the roar of the engine and the guy snoring in the seat across the aisle, the headphones made the nine-and-a-half-hour long flight bearable - almost pleasant.

Biz class upgrades aren’t a staple in my usual econo-class flight plans. But thanks to Santa and a new pair of Able Planet’s Clear Harmony noise cancelling headphones I can now tune out the chaos in style. Better yet, they work great for fading out distractions in my home office, too. I’m wearing them as I type, much to the chagrin of my husband who just realized he’s been talking to himself.

Favorite feature:  Comfort! The padded ear cushions are so much better for long haul listening than earbuds. 

Not-so-favorite feature: The obvious. Despite the fold-flat design, they’re big. Big enough in these days of diminishing carry-on allowances to make me think twice about toting them along. Bummer!

Bottom line: No way, no how am I jetting off for a 5-hour-plus flight without them. Something else can give.

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To Lose or Not To Lose? Cool New Microchip Bag Tag.

A few months ago Southwest Airlines misplaced my friend Julia’s suitcase on a non-stop flight. YIKES. Okay, stuff happens. But here’s the rub: when Julia asked the airline to tell her if her bag was still in Phoenix, where she’d boarded, or on it’s way to El Paso, where she’d landed, or, for that matter en route to Timbuktu, they couldn’t tell her. Their reply; “Um, sorry mam, but we don’t have a scanning system for luggage.” Huh? You mean the grapes at my local co-op have a bar code, but not my luggage? As a Southwest frequent flyer, I was NOT thrilled to hear this.

Last year alone the number of items of luggage misplaced by airlines rose from 30 million to 42 million, an increase of 40%. In addition, receiving compensation for a lost item of luggage is dodgy at best unless receipts can be provided for everything that was in the lost bag. Hence, the need for travel insurance. But that’s a story for another day.

A new UK startup, ReboundTAG, has been working with help from the International Air Transport Association along with several airport systems developers to come up with a better solution. Their answer to the problem is a microchip bag tag designed to reduce the chances of losing personal belongings. There is also a barcode and number printed on the microchip bag tag to insure that they function in airports where there are no microchip readers.

And here’s the really cool part, when the luggage is found the owner receives an email and an SMS (text) to their mobile phone immediately.

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