If laptops are banned on flights what will you do?

[readmoreoften]

Poll question: If laptops are banned on flights what will you do?

The TSA is considering banning laptops and other electronics (like cell phones) in carry-on luggage. Since checked baggage is not permitted to be locked, these items will (realistically) not be secure from theft or damage. What will you do?

Poll result (51 votes)
I don't have a laptop and/or I don't fly.	(13 votes, 25%)	Vote
I will only fly when I don't need my laptop at my final destination.	(1 votes, 2%)	Vote
I will download everything I need onto a pen drive & rent another laptop at my destination	(1 votes, 2%)	Vote
I will check my laptop and risk theft and damage. I can't function w/o my laptop.	(2 votes, 4%)	Vote
I'm actually more concerned about checking my phone. If it's lost I'm screwed.	(5 votes, 10%)	Vote
I have other electronic equipment I'm more concerned about	(2 votes, 4%)	Vote
I may stop flying altogether.	(19 votes, 37%)	Vote
Other	(8 votes, 16%)	Vote

[Warren DeMontague]

1. If they ban lap dances on planes, I'm fucking driving.

fuck that.

[Monkeyman]

2. Mile High club too lol

[readmoreoften]

7. Hell, they've already banned lapdogs.

Next it will be lapidarians and lapis lazuli.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. How about laplanders?

Just as long as they don't try to take my big lapels.

[readmoreoften]

19. Make them wear identification badges.

And if that doesn't work. Put them on the no fly list!

[Fountain79]

53. Which airline is this?

All is get is a damn bag of pretzels!!!

[LisaM]

3. OMG, maybe I'll read a book or chat with my fellow passengers!

The way they did back in the Dark Ages.......

Actually, I have a work laptop but prefer not to take it; I don't have a cell phone.

[MidwestTransplant]

8. Don't sit next to me then!

Well you can, just identify yourself before you start chatting!

[readmoreoften]

11. Some people actually need their laptops for their final destination.

Not as entertainment or to distract them from other passengers. I don't think that the primary reason that people bring laptops on flights is to play movies or computer games.

[Midlodemocrat]

37. My husband can't function at his work without his laptop.

They have an internal intranet over which they send secure contracts and such. I don't know what he will do because he travels every week, and often works from home.

I guess he'll have to drive more. What is gas now? $10 a gallon?

[Freedom_Aflaim]

39. exactly

I rarely open my laptop on the plane as their are security considerations in that alone (shoulder surfing etc).

However when I fly for business, having a laptop at my destination is an absolutely must. Without it, Im better off at home or office.

[Renew Deal]

13. That's not the point

as I see it. There have been a lot of problems with stolen items from luggage at JFK. I would not check my laptop. Besides getting stolen, it would likely get smashed.

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. That's what I was thinking too

[Warren DeMontague]

17. Chat with 'em? Given the amount of cramming in coach, it usually seems

like I'm having SEX with them.

[pitohui]

48. books are banned on u.k. flights also

and chatting w. fellow pax who would prefer not to endure a conversation w. a stranger on a transatlantic flight is not just rude but actually painful for a lot of us

[davidinalameda]

55. don't sit next to me either

there's a reason I pretend to watch the movie-so I don't have to talk to my fellow passengers

[Mr_Spock]

60. Companies like mine joke about employees who don't keep up

I just heard about a guy in our company who didn't have a cell phone and never brought his laptop with him on a trip. He was let go partially because people were under the impression that he didn't do anything. Of course that wasn't the only reason, but it just shows how addicted people are to their electronic devices.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. I might just stop flying, and start slowing my life down

like the old days of travel, and just take trains and ships.

No way I'm putting my expensive stuff in unlocked baggage. Hello, instant theft!

It's not just laptops, it's gonna be the couple thou worth of cameras, the cell phone, plus the laptop, plus any jewelry I might be taking (expensive cufflinks), and all the other stuff that I won't be able to carry on. People working in airports are gonna be rich soon, lifting shit out of people's luggage and taking it home.

And most times when I travel, I'm traveling for business reasons, or if on vacation for a while, I still have to do business and stay in touch with things. So I have to have my laptop.

I don't use the laptop on planes, I'd rather read and sleep and just be mellow; but I sure as hell ain't putting it my luggage.

[Renew Deal]

10. A lot of stuff gets stolen at JFK

And I am not willing to lose my laptop. They can have the phone, Blackberry, GPS.

[YDogg]

20. They'll have to pry my GPSr from my cold, dead hands, dogg.

[Freedom_Aflaim]

40. I don't care about the value of the laptop

Shit if they break it I'll just buy a new one on my amex and expense it with my company.

my concern is the value of the data on the laptop. THATS a whole 'nother story

[Warren DeMontague]

5. 10 to 1 they won't.

Yuppie Businesspeople who fly for work would sooner gnaw off their own feet than check their laptops.

Guess which party yuppie businesspeople tend to vote for?

[Union Label]

56. Those types think their to good to travel with us riffraff

And besides don't they normally take private planes that don't have to follow these bullshit new guidelines.

[Renew Deal]

6. Leave the laptop at home

But the Blackberry comes with me.

[unpossibles]

9. I don't have a laptop, but my wife does

but we don't have a house phone, just cells. Which would suck to have to check with luggage. What if something happens to it? I have no phone until it gets found or replaced. This is f***ing stupid! In theory you could use ANYTHING as a weapon. I am getting so sick of this crap that we need to get these assclowns out of office and out of our lives ASAP.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. I fly a lot,

and I always bring a book, never my laptop. It's nice to get away from the freaking computer for a few hours, and get some uninterrupted reading done for a change.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

15. Can a laptop be FedExed?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. Just about anything can be FedExed.

[Renew Deal]

21. Of course

Especially with good packaging.

[readmoreoften]

22. Sure. It's expensive, though. /nt

[LisaM]

32. Good, I hope I sit next to you, then!

The people picking me up always come meet me in baggage. As I do they. So if there's a delay, it's not an issue.

[LSK]

18. i dont fly

[readmoreoften]

23. By the way, how do we meet up with our rides if our cell phones are gone?

If the checked baggage is delayed or if you're the one unlucky person on every flight whose stuff doesn't make it.

[rzemanfl]

25. Tampa airport has a "cellphone lot" where people wait for calls

and then drive to the terminal to pick up arrivals. Tampa used to be a great airport b/4 9/11.

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. And there are no pay phones anymore

have you looked for one lately?

[readmoreoften]

46. Even still, how would you pay for the call?

If the person has a cell number that's long distance, and MANY people do (I do) how do you pay anymore. And most people keep their numbers programmed into their phones. What about if you get stuck for six hours at a connecting flight? The whole thing is going to be a fiasco, IMO.

[rzemanfl]

24. Are they going to ban digital cameras too? Shit, no way I will

check mine. Who needs pictures of your family or of your vacation anyway?

[LifeDuringWartime]

26. other

i wasn't planning on doing any flying. maybe on spring break but if i can't bring my phone or computer....i dunno

[Swamp Rat]

27. Stop flying.

Not just because of the laptop ban.

I'd rather take a boat the next time I need to go overseas... and I'll likely stay there for good.

[Warren DeMontague]

41. That's easy for you to say.

Some of us can't help it!

[Swamp Rat]

42. LOL!

Not really, since I ain't got no money these days. I'm gonna build me a pirogue and paddle my way accross the pond.



edit: Cher.

[CountAllVotes]

54. no joke there Swamp Rat!

The last time I flew they took my laptop apart. They decided to keep the other half of the adaptor cord. That was JUST GREAT!!!

I too plan to NEVER fly again after my last experience.

Who needs to be bullied, discrimated against and physically abused? That is what happened to me.

So F you Heathrow! YOU really DO SUCK!

[Uzybone]

28. I dont care if they ban them or not

Do people need laptops to fly?

[readmoreoften]

30. No they need them at their destinations.

And if you have to check your laptop in an unopened bag, there is a fairly good chance it will get broken or stolen. Not to mention cameras and other delicate electronics.

[Renew Deal]

31. No,

They need them when they land. Preferably in 1 piece.

[longship]

29. Amtrak Economy Sleeper.

Room, great food, service, comfort,... Yeah!

[pstokely]

33. at least no connecting flights

[DistressedAmerican]

34. No Luggage Monkey Touches My Machine.

Just put me on the "no fly" list. I won't be doing it anyway.

[Freedom_Aflaim]

38. will be flying only as a last resort

Hazard of the job is that I usually have a laptop somewhere close at all times, all the time.

If laptops become banned, flying will happen only when I really really have to, and it really far away.

[AlienGirl]

43. If they banned CD players, then I'd stop flying

I don't have a laptop, but I need to listen to my music or I'll go mad from boredom.

Tucker

[readmoreoften]

44. CD players would be banned. All electronics. /nt

[MrSlayer]

45. I don't have a laptop but I want to bring my mp3 player and other stuff.

I'm going on vacation next week and I want to bring my electronics with me. I don't feel safe leaving them in my luggage where any one of those "security" people can just steal them. I'm way more worried about this than any terrorist plot.

[pitohui]

50. mrslayer, they said one of the bombs was a mp3 player!

you missed the memo, they planned to make a bomb out of a fake can of gatorade and an mp3 player

i can't make this stuff up, somebody around in LBN will have the linky for you!

[MrSlayer]

58. I believe you.

I just think it's stupid that everyone has to suffer for this trumped up bullshit. These guys hadn't even taken the steps to do anything at all. It's like the Miami thing where people were just thinking about it.

[pitohui]

47. i do not own a laptop

however i have other possessions infinitely more valuable that do not need to be separated from my person, if they must fly in checked luggage, better not to fly at all

[mr_hat]

49. Liquid-free laptops should be OK.

[pitohui]

51. that is not what the guidelines said

the uk flights are not allowing ANY laptops, any electronic items, not even your key fob or cell phone -- so when your luggage is "delayed" you won't be able to call for a friend to pick you up and you won't be able to drive home either

good times

even books are not being permitted, just a plastic baggie for your passport, credit card, small enough to fit in a "pocket"

[high density]

52. I don't fly often, and I've never flown with a laptop

But if I can't bring my own food and soda on the plane, I will certainly think more than twice before buying my next plane ticket.

If I did fly with a laptop there's no way I'd send it as checked baggage. I think I'd rather spend to have have FedEx or UPS overnight it to my destination and back, though that might cost more than the plane ticket!

[NVMojo]

57. the average American gets "fucked in the drive-through" again ...

[Mr_Spock]

59. Can't stand the boredom or do my job at destination without it

I guess the airlines will be losing a bundle on this deal. Can you imagine doing the 19 hour flight to Asia without being able to do some work - and I don't think my company will want us checking our proprietary information in a unlocked piece of luggage.