COMING AND GOING

Dept. of Silver Linings

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UPRIGHT AND LOCKED

Dept. of Silver Linings

From the land of unintended consequences: Getting on and off planes has become easier and faster since Aug. 10, when the U.S. Transporation Security Administration banned passengers from carrying liquids and gels on board.

The explanation: Fewer bags are being carried on, so the aisles aren't as jammed with people wrestling their luggage into and out of overhead bins.

"We've seen boarding times shrink by five or 10 minutes " since the ban, said Morgan Durrant, a spokesman for US Airways . At AirTran, passengers are boarding four minutes faster on average. Other carriers, while unable to quantify the increased speed to the minute, agreed that they too have seen a difference that might even help explain a recent uptick in on-time records systemwide.

Of course, as fewer bags are being carried, more are being checked . US Airways and Delta, for example, said they've seen a 20 percent increase -- the same increase cited by TSA security screeners, said agency spokesman Darrin Keyser. (The biggest factor in the increased load of checked bags: Travelers who used to pack a single bag and carry it on board now check it because of the toiletries inside. Might some not find it worthwhile to get by with whatever toiletries the hotel provides?)

Some airlines told CoGo they were increasing staffing to handle the change, while others -- and the TSA -- said their existing staff was absorbing the extra work. The big question: Will more bags checked mean more bags lost? The latest stats, from June, show an average of 6.28 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers. We await the stats post-Aug. 10.

When the liquid ban was first instituted, some airlines temporarily waived fees for checking a third bag. However, that courtesy is over: Airlines figure you should have made the necessary packing adjustments by now.

WALLET WATCH

Southwest's Dulles Debut

As the date nears for Southwest's debut flights from Dulles International Airport , CoGo began wondering: Have savvy travelers already scooped up all the cheap seats? By and large, not yet.

CoGo first looked for seats on Oct. 5, the first day Southwest begins flying from Dulles to four markets -- all but some flights to Las Vegas are nonstop -- with returns on Oct. 8. Here's how it was looking:

· Chicago Midway: Every flight still had the cheapest seats available, round-trip fares of $177 . United was matching that price ; American, if you're willing to fly to Chicago O'Hare instead of Midway, was beating the price, at $158 .

· Tampa: The cheapest seats were still wide open, meaning round-trip fares of $177 . United came closest to matching, at $216 . The cheapest seats available those days on discount competitor JetBlue: $279 .

· Orlando: The cheapest seats -- $177 round trip -- were open on some, but not all, flights on the test dates. United was matching, at $177. JetBlue must be very sorry to see Southwest's arrival at Dulles. JetBlue's best available fare: $267 .

· Las Vegas: Apparently the most popular addition to Southwest's schedule -- all of the cheapest seats ($99 each way) were gone for our test dates. So too were the cheaper seats. Lowest round-trip fares still available: $564. United easily beat those prices, at $340. JetBlue: $380 .

CoGo also checked availability on Southwest's new flights from Dulles over the Christmas holidays and found that the cheapest seats were still available on at least some flights in each market, and that some airlines still had similar fares. Shop around, and shop early.

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK

London for $300

Fly on Delta's new nonstop service from New York's JFK to London-Gatwick for $303 round trip (with taxes). Purchase by Sept. 7; depart Nov. 15-March 21 and return no later than April 20. Also, fly from Washington Dulles or Reagan National to Gatwick, with a connection in New York, for $410 round trip, including taxes. Blackout dates Dec. 15-Jan. 7; some dates are sold out. Book at www.delta.com, or pay $10 more at 800-241-4141.

Reporting: Cindy Loose.

Help feed CoGo. Send travel news to cogo@washpost.com.

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