Luggage

Children who haul their own luggage can choose bags shaped like penguins, pandas, ladybugs and even aliens, adding more playfulness and perhaps even a toy playmate to the trip. TrendyKid 's new child-friendly Travel Buddies luggage sets include a lightweight 17-inch hard-shell wheeled bag with an adjustable pull handle and internal garment straps and a zippered section for organizing gear. The matching 13-inch backpack has adjustable shoulder straps and an internal pocket.

Dear SOS: My husband and I are completely in love with the LGO Chopped Salad at the Luggage Room in Pasadena. We moved an hour away from the restaurant and dream about it. Is there anyway you could get the recipe? Karim Wasson Corona Dear Karim: A little cheddar, some cubed pepperoni, olives, raisins, cucumber, crunchy pistachios and delicate lettuce strips are tossed with a bright yet creamy Champagne vinaigrette in this colorful take on the classic salad. The Luggage Room was happy to share its recipe, which we've adapted below.

In her Jan. 21 letter, Simonne Reynolds mentions the lack of security guards at LAX for luggage tag checks. My husband and I experience the same lack of luggage check at the John Wayne Airport. Perhaps I do not have enough faith in my fellow man. PATRICIA RHODES Mission Viejo Since 1992, we have made 12 trips on TWA. Not once was there someone to check out our luggage tags. I worry if I don't get to the carousel in time. My husband stands at the chute to make sure we get our luggage before anyone else does.

Some answers to readers' airline questions: Question: I understand that London's Heathrow Airport has a horrendous arrival fee. Is the same true for Stansted and Gatwick, London's two other airports? Answer: I'm not sure if you're referring to the airport landing fee, which is assessed based on the size of the aircraft and does vary from airport to airport but is paid directly by the airline, or Britain's air passenger duty, which is, essentially, a tax levied on airline tickets and varies depending on the class of service (economy or premium)

Returning international travelers should be warned that lost luggage may not be promptly returned when found, because of U.S. Customs. Upon returning from a very pleasant European ski trip my bag was the only one missing at LAX, although Air France had located it and would forward it by a more direct route to San Diego. The bad news was, as I found later, that U.S. Customs had intercepted it in Houston, and I did not receive it for almost a week, plus the air freight charge required for bonded luggage was $32.55.

We can't thank Jerry Hulse enough for the Travel Tip concerning the proper way of checking your luggage when traveling (Dec. 4). Although the outline he gave is printed on our ticket jackets, most passengers don't realize that there is a great deal they can do to aid airlines in not misrouting or delaying their luggage. Hopefully, your readers will take heed and practice Jerry's excellent suggestions. His column is always informative and a pleasure to read. MONICA KLARWEIN supervisor L.A. Baggage Service United Airlines

In the last two months, two U.S. Transportation Security Administration officers have been arrested on suspicion of stealing from passenger luggage at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) -- incidents that leave me worrying about how often such theft happens. Judging from official statistics, it seems rare -- or maybe the culprits just don't get caught very often. On Thursday, TSA officer Paul Yashou, 37, was arrested on suspicion of taking $30,000 worth of items from suitcases at the airport , according to this Daily Breeze story , which also said that a police search of Yashou's home turned up "numerous items belonging to LAX passengers.

An unattended piece of empty luggage shut down a parking lot at Glendale Community College on Monday morning after the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's bomb squad was called in to investigate. The luggage, discovered in Parking Lot C off East Mountain Street  at 7 a.m., was reported first to the college's police department, which called in Glendale police and later the bomb squad, the Glendale News-Press reported. “It turned out to be an empty piece of luggage,” said Glendale Community College Police Chief Gary Montecuollo.

While the nation's airlines continue to blame higher fuel costs for cutting into profits, the industry continues to pocket hefty revenue from fees. The country's largest airlines collected $1.5 billion in fees from checked luggage and reservation change charges in April, May and June, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The fees collected for the second quarter represent a 1% increase from the same period last year and were up 8.5% from the previous three months, according to the bureau.

If you are flying during the holiday season, airline statistics show that the chances of having your luggage lost, misplaced or pilfered increase as the number of passengers boarding planes goes up. But the rate of lost luggage may not be as high as it has been in the past. FOR THE RECORD: Airport security: An item in the Dec. 13 Travel Briefcase column in Business about security checkpoints reported that actress Donna D'Errico complained to KLTA about her treatment by Transportation Security Administration officials at Los Angeles International Airport.

Always pack a flat rubber water-stopper for leaky bathtub and sink drains. I've needed it even in highly rated hotels. Bob Myers Lake Arrowhead When traveling with a child in diapers, prepare a grab-and-go package of diapers and wipes. Put three or four wipes in a snack-size plastic bag, then put that and one diaper in a quart-size bag. Place these single packages in a carry-on or diaper bag. For a diaper change, grab one pack and go. Save the leftover wipes in their bags for the return trip.

An unattended piece of empty luggage shut down a parking lot at Glendale Community College on Monday morning after the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's bomb squad was called in to investigate. The luggage, discovered in Parking Lot C off East Mountain Street  at 7 a.m., was reported first to the college's police department, which called in Glendale police and later the bomb squad, the Glendale News-Press reported. “It turned out to be an empty piece of luggage,” said Glendale Community College Police Chief Gary Montecuollo.

Question: My husband and I will be traveling abroad for several weeks. We plan to pack lightly so that we do not have to check luggage. However, we will need more toiletries than we can carry on our planes so we are thinking about shipping them ahead. Can you give us any advice? Patricia Koch Long Beach Answer: Because of the cost of luggage services, I would ordinarily recommend sending toiletries (which Koch said couldn't be bought at the destination) by a known entity, such as the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, FedEx and DHL. Jami Counter, senior director of TripAdvisor Flights, agrees.

If the airlines lost your luggage last year, you are among a few unlucky passengers. Very few. During 2012, the nation's largest airlines reported the lowest rate of lost or mishandled luggage since federal officials began keeping the data in 1987. For the year, the nation's airlines had a rate of 3.09 lost or damaged bags for every 1,000 passengers, compared with the rate of 3.35 bags in 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported Tuesday. Some airline critics have suggested that the rate of lost luggage has been declining because passengers carry fewer bags to avoid the check-luggage fee that most airlines introduced in the past four years.

It's a distressingly common scenario: You've successfully landed in your port of call. Your luggage, however, has hoofed it somewhere else entirely. Trakdot, a tracking device showcased at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, aims to make the snafu more bearable by knowing where your bags ended up.  The black and orange, GSM-equipped gadget is slightly larger than a deck of playing cards and powered by AA batteries. The idea is to chuck the Federal Aviation Administration-approved appliance into checked suitcases --it's programmed to power down once the aircraft it's on reaches certain speeds.

Last summer snow globes got a reprieve when the Transportation Security Administration relaxed the rule that banned the water-filled tchotchkes from carry-on luggage. But in the clear-eyed cold of winter, it's small comfort -- very small comfort -- as the holiday season approaches. Snow Globe Central of Denver points out the TSA allows only snow globes that appear to "contain less than 3.4 ounces (approximately tennis ball size.)" But the most popular snow globes are bigger, and carry much more liquid.

If you plan to fly during the holiday season, the chances of an airline losing your luggage will increase sharply. The rate of mishandled luggage in December was as much as 35% higher than the annual average in the years 2008 through 2010, according to a study by NerdWallet.com, a personal finance analysis site. In the month of January, the rate of lost or damaged rate was 43% higher than the annual average for 2008 to 2011. For example, in December 2010, airlines reported an average rate of 4.7 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers, compared with the average for the year of 3.47 lost or damaged bags, according to NerdWallet.

If you plan to fly during the holiday season, the chance of losing your luggage increases sharply. The rate of mishandled luggage in December was as much as 35% higher than the annual averages for 2008 through 2010, according to a study by NerdWallet, a personal finance analysis website. In January, the lost or damaged rate was as much as 43% higher than the annual averages for 2008-11. For example, in December 2010, airlines reported an average rate of 4.7 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers, compared with the average for the year of 3.47 lost or damaged bags, according to NerdWallet Inc. The trend did not hold true in December 2011, when the rate dropped to 3.25 reports, compared with the annual average of 3.33 reports, according to NerdWallet.

If you plan to fly during the holiday season, the chances of an airline losing your luggage will increase sharply. The rate of mishandled luggage in December was as much as 35% higher than the annual average in the years 2008 through 2010, according to a study by NerdWallet.com, a personal finance analysis site. In the month of January, the rate of lost or damaged rate was 43% higher than the annual average for 2008 to 2011. For example, in December 2010, airlines reported an average rate of 4.7 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers, compared with the average for the year of 3.47 lost or damaged bags, according to NerdWallet.