COMING AND GOING
More (Sigh) Rules

Sunday, November 12, 2006

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UPRIGHT AND LOCKED
More (Sigh) Rules

CoGo hates to tell this to travelers still struggling with U.S. rules on airport security, but there are new rules if you're flying to or from Europe.

* European Union countries have basically adopted the U.S. limitations on carrying liquids and gels on board, except they complicate things by using the metric system. Here, you can carry on as many three-ounce containers as will fit in a one-quart plastic zip-top bag. There, you can carry on as many 100-milliliter containers as will fit in a one-liter plastic zip-top bag.

A liter is just a tad larger than a U.S. quart and just a tad smaller than a British Imperial quart. Let's hope that officers on both sides of the Atlantic will consider quarts and liters close enough for government work . Ditto for the small difference between 100 milliliters and three ounces.

The new rules also apply to flights from the non-E.U. countries of Albania, Iceland, Kosovo, Norway and Switzerland .

* Carry-on bags in E.U. countries, as of April, must be no larger than 56 by 45 by 25 centimeters, or about 22 by 18 by 10 inches. But the size rules are already being imposed in Britain and in Germany's Frankfurt airport.

* Liquids bought in duty-free shops in E.U. countries as of last week were placed in sealed, tamper-evident bags. You can carry those bags through European security checkpoints if you don't mess with the packaging. But duty-free liquids bought in the United States won't make it through European security on connecting flights because they won't be in the special E.U. bags (nonstop flights are fine). And the E.U. bags won't cut it with U.S. security officers. You can buy duty-free Scotch in Europe and carry it on board your nonstop flight if you've followed U.S. rules (made purchases after passing security, had them delivered to your plane or bought them on the plane). Even then, though, you can't carry it on a connecting flight within the United States.

Find U.S. and E.U. rules at http://www.tsa.gov.

WALLET WATCH
Class Struggle

If you buy a first-class ticket , you're expecting to sit in one of those big seats in the front , right? If you ended up in coach instead , wouldn't you expect to get money back?

That's what Amanda Esquibel of Arlington thought after Continental Airlines told her that because of a change in planes, she'd be riding coach on her return next month from Albuquerque to Washington. She'd paid more than $1,050 round trip for first-class seats , and she called the airline to ask for either a partial refund or another flight home with first-class seats .

No can do, she says she was told. In fact, if she made any changes she'd owe the airline money , she said an agent told her, because at that point a coach ticket cost more than what she'd earlier paid for first class.

CoGo contacted Continental, which then offered Esquibel either a first-class seat on a different day or $340 . Esquibel took the dough.

So what is Continental's policy? Typically such incidents are reviewed on a "case-by-case basis considering the type of ticket purchased and the fare that was available at the time of original purchase, " said spokeswoman Mary Clark. Of course it's hard for a customer to know what seats were going for in the past, so you might need a little trust, or CoGo on your side.

PASSPORT WATCH
Jamaica Wants You

Planning a Caribbean trip this winter? Remember, you will soon need a passport. Do the paperwork at a "passport party " sponsored by the Jamaica Tourism Board and the U.S. Postal Service at Union Station on Wednesday from 7 to 10 a.m.

For an adult passport, bring a $30 check for the U.S. Postal Service, a $67 check for the U.S. Department of State, and either two passport photos or $15 to have pics shot on site. Submit the papers at the event, and your passport will be sent to your home within six weeks -- in time for the Jan. 8 deadline, when passports will be needed for anyone flying outside the United States, including to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, 34 hotels in Jamaica are participating in a promotion for new passport holders. As of Jan. 8, if Jamaica is the first port of entry stamped in your new passport, you will receive discounts or incentives, such as a free car rental or tour , worth the price of a new passport ($97 for adults, $82 for children) at participating properties.

Details: Passport party, Jamaican Tourism Board, 800-233-4582; hotel promotion, http://www.visitjamaica.com, click on "New U.S. Government Re-entry Requirement" and then on "Passport to Rewards."

TRAVEL TICKER

Star Trek fan alert: Cruise with former cast members and writers for two weeks next November. Prices for the Australia and New Zealand trip start at $2,299, airfare not included. Details: 310-456-7544, http://www.cruisetrek.com/ . . . The threat of a military coup in Fiji prompted the U.S. State Department to issue an alert that "the security situation could deteriorate without warning." Details: http://www.travel.state.gov/ .

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK
Not Home for the Holidays

United (800-864-8331, www.united.com) and American (800-433-7300, www.aa.com) airlines have launched holiday sales, with the lowest fares for travel Nov. 23, 24, 29 and Dec. 25. Other airlines are matching in select markets. For example, fly round trip from Washington to Chicago on either airline, departing Thanksgiving day and returning the following Wednesday, for $118 round trip plus about $21 taxes; fare on other airlines starts at about $221. Higher sale fares also extend to other dates in November and December; see Web sites for details.

Reporting: Cindy Loose, Sue Kovach Shuman

Help feed CoGo. Send travel news, road reports and juicy tattles to: cogo@washpost.com. By fax: 202-912-3609. By mail: CoGo, Washington Post Travel Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.

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