Coming and Going

More Fast Lanes, for a Price

TRAVEL ABROAD

More Fast Lanes, For a Price

Already jealous when you see a "registered traveler" speed through security while you're waiting in line? As of June 1, a similar program called Global Entry will whisk preregistered travelers through customs lanes at Dulles, New York's Kennedy and Houston Intercontinental.

Either brace yourself for more jealousy pangs or pay $100 to join Global Entry. Registration begins Monday on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Web site ( http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel). After you sign up online, you'll be contacted by e-mail about scheduling an in-person interview and fingerprinting at one of the three airports. The application process takes about six to eight weeks. Eventually, other airports will be included in the program.

Global Entry is intended for those who travel abroad frequently, which makes the per-trip charge less extreme.

To find out how long your pass-free wait at customs is likely to be at a given place and time, use the Web address above but add to it "/wait_times."

BAGGAGE BEAT

Skycaps and Tipping

Buoyed by her recent court victory in which American Airlines was ordered to pay nine Boston skycaps an average of $36,000 each, lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan is planning class-action suits against at least seven U.S. airlines.

The issue: When airlines started charging a fee for checking bags curbside, many passengers stopped tipping skycaps , some of whom are paid less than minimum wage before tips. Don DiFiore, the lead plaintiff in the suit decided last month, says he used to earn more than $100 a day in tips, but when American launched its $2-per-bag fee, his income dropped so dramatically that he lost his apartment.

Liss-Riordan wants to get skycaps nationwide certified as a class, and she says she plans to bring suit against Alaska, American, JetBlue, Northwest, United and US Airways, all of which charge the $2 fee. She also intends to sue Delta, which recently imposed a $3-per-bag fee for curbside baggage checks. Millions are at stake.

"We know American alone makes somewhere on the order of $8 million a year off this charge nationally," she says. The lawsuits will seek to rescind the fee and ask that skycaps be reimbursed for tips lost when the fee was in effect.

Last week, apparently reacting to the jury award, American upped DiFiore's pay from $10 to $15 an hour . (DiFiore, who has worked for American for more than 25 years, is the sole remaining skycap at Logan working directly for the airline.) His co-workers at Logan, who work for American subcontractors, had their pay increased from $5.15 an hour to $12 an hour . At the same time, American posted no-tipping signs at Logan.

What do skycaps consider a decent tip? Depends on what they do and how long it takes, but if they're only checking your luggage at curbside, tip $1 to $2 per bag, DiFiore said in a conference call with CoGo. Liss-Riordan interrupted to suggest: Make it $2 a bag.

HEALTH WATCH

Beach Bums

How would you like to go for a nice swim at a beach that fails half of all tests for fecal contamination? No? Then get the facts before taking a dip.

At the Natural Resources Defense Council Web site ( http://oceans.nrdc.org/beachgoers/map), a map shows how often water at 100 popular U.S. beaches failed to meet federal health standards in the latest available rounds of tests. Bacterial counts that exceed standard levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can cause gastrointestinal illnesses, pinkeye and rashes, among other things. The map was created by the NRDC, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, using EPA data.