What Are the TSA Rules Again?

The Three ContendersNalgene: Known best for its plastic water bottles, Nalgene sells individual bottles and packages like the $8 Travel Kit--four bottles and two jars, in various sizes, each with a screw-top lid and under three fluid ounces--at nalgene-outdoor.com and stores like REI, Eastern Mountain Sports, and Campmor. Pitotubes: Founded by a former flight attendant, Pitotubes makes plastic containers with pistons at the bottom that rise as the bottle empties, making it easier to get the contents out. Available at pitotubes.com, they're $10 each and are also sold as a $52 collection of six (two each of 15ml, 30ml, 50ml), with labels so you can ID them. Tumi: The luggage manufacturer gives anyone who buys a carry-on bag from a Tumi store in the U.S. or at tumi.com a set of four two-fluid-ounce plastic vials that are OK to clean in the dishwasher. All of the tops screw on, and two have press-open lids. The Test First, we chose two containers from each company. Then we filled them with two different substances: an oozy hair gel (for the ones with press-open and flick-open lids), and a liquidy mouthwash (for the screw tops). We packed each container in its own sandwich-size Ziploc bag--if there was leakage, we'd know which was the culprit--and then put them all in a one-quart Ziploc. We threw the bag in a carry-on, and flew from Raleigh-Durham to New York City, jiggling and jostling the carry-on as a normal traveler would. The only drama came when we took photos of the containers mid-flight: Would other passengers think we were mixing a Molotov cocktail from hair gel and Listerine? The Results The good news: no leakage. The flaw with Tumi's containers, however, was clear immediately. The plastic is very stiff, making the bottles virtually impossible to squeeze (a real problem with the press-top one), and the mouths are so narrow that the containers are a pain to fill and clean. The Pitotubes are sleek and stylish, but the mouths are just as narrow as the Tumi bottles'. Also, while the Pitotubes' neat pump tops worked well for the hair gel, they're a messy way to dispense something more watery like mouthwash. Pitotubes also lost some major points because they're not supposed to be cleaned in the dishwasher. The Winner The no-nonsense Nalgene bottles are made of a plastic that gives nicely, and the containers have wide mouths that are easy to fill and clean. Plus, they're inexpensive, durable, and dishwasher-safe. That's something we can get on board with.

Volunteer deals Groups of 10 or more get a discount if they book lodging and airfare for a volunteer vacation through cheaptickets.com. India flight Jet Airways plans to bring service to the U.S. in August, with a daily flight between Newark and Mumbai (via Brussels). AirTran fees The airline is charging $5-$15 for some aisle and exit-row seats. CityPass NYC CityPass has added the Met museum to its New York pass and the Hockey Hall of Fame to its Toronto pass. Nonstop routes ExpressJet announced new nonstops connecting smaller airports, including San Antonio to Tulsa, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and Tucson; and Jacksonville, Fla., to Kansas City, New Orleans, and Austin. Skybus airline Skybus began flying from Columbus, Ohio, to Richmond, Oakland, and other airports, promising at least ten $10 seats on each flight. But it's charging for everything--and you can't bring food on board. Teen programs After consulting teenagers, Royal Caribbean is rolling out new features for them like Nintendo's Wii, teen-only dining, and an ice-breaker jam session with musical instruments. Billy Graham Library opens Charlotte, N.C., is home to a library dedicated to the evangelist. The building resembles a barn; the entrance is a 40-foot-tall glass cross. billygraham.org National Park fees going up Over the next three years, higher rates will be introduced at a third of U.S. national parks, including Big Bend, Zion, and Mesa Verde. The old $10-per-vehicle rate may become $20. Williamsburg Spa The 20,000-square-foot Spa of Colonial Williamsburg is open. thespaofcolonialwilliamsburg.com No-frills Jamaica SuperClubs' basic brand, Rooms, gets a second property, in Negril, in December. roomsresorts.com Disney shift Smoking is no longer allowed in any Disney hotel rooms or timeshares in Orlando. It'll only be OK at certain outdoor spaces. Riu in Aruba The Spanish chain now has a hotel in Aruba, the Riu Palace Aruba. riu.com Movin' movies Austin's Rolling Roadshow is screening movies all over this summer, including North by Northwest at Mount Rushmore. rollingroadshow.com

Finding the cheapest airfare is a game--and often, a maddening one at that. Flight prices fluctuate all the time, and the only way to monitor all the ups and downs is with frequent searches. This can obviously lead to shopping fatigue: Who has the time to punch dates and destinations into a handful of booking engines several times a day? A few websites have begun doing the searching for you. The best option of all may be one that came out of beta-testing this morning, Yapta.com, whose entire mission is to handle all of your searches for you. Membership is free. Once you join, plug in your dates and routes, as well as a price threshold. The site will do several price searches per day, and as soon as the flight drops to that specified price, you'll receive an e-mail alert. Members can also download Yapta's software and get messages instantaneously on their desktops. Yapta not only tracks flights you might want to buy, it tracks flights you've already bought. Why? Because occasionally fares drop so low that airline ticket holders are entitled to a cash refund (minus a change fee of $100 or so). It's rare but does happen. Yapta also tells members when they're entitled to a flight voucher from an airline: It's a little-known rule with some airlines--Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest, United, and US Airways--that a ticket-holding passenger can get a flight voucher if a sale is announced and prices drop below the fare the passenger paid. Getting the airline to cough up cash or a voucher involves some red tape, as you'd expect. But the only chance of getting anything back from the airline is by tracking fares after you've already paid for your flight--and nobody wants to do that. So Yapta, it seems, will certainly come in handy. I've been given a sneak preview of the site and have been testing it out. A key thing to note: For Yapta to start working for you, you've got to plug in exact flight numbers and times. The service searches for fares on that specific trip only; it doesn't search fares for an entire date. That's good if you'll only be happy with that specific flight, but not so good if you're flexible with times and are only looking for a cheap fare.

In the post-An Inconvenient Truth world, flying has been targeted as one of the larger culprits that contribute to global warming. To counter-act carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions from flights, a new breed of business sells carbon offsets; the money is used to help avert climate change, often by planting trees or investing in renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. All you need to do is visit a website and provide trip details to calculate how much greenhouse gas your flight is producing. In seconds, you find out how much to pay in order to be "carbon neutral." While the trend is certainly a positive one, figuring out where to give your money is confusing. A Google search turns up dozens of carbon-offset companies--many of which are for-profit--and it's difficult to determine which are worthwhile. There's little consistency in the way the organizations calculate the emissions generated by a given flight. Prices charged for offsets also vary widely. For example, TerraPass, a California-based for-profit outfit, estimates that a Boston-Los Angeles round trip produces 1.02 tons of CO2, and charges $10 to offset it; German nonprofit Atmosfair, meanwhile, says that the flight creates 2.58 tons of CO2, and charges $65 for the offset. Other carbon-offset outfits request a flat amount without factoring in the exact mileage or the type of plane being flown. Critics point out that offsets fall far short of solving global warming. "It's hard to truly offset your carbon impact," says Anja Kollmuss, the lead author of a recent study from the Tufts Climate Initiative that evaluates carbon-offset companies. "To really make a difference, people need to fly less and make lifestyle changes." Still, while the study cautions that fliers shouldn't see carbon offsets as a way to buy "environmental pardons," it does allow that offsets might help spur innovation--including the financing of carbon-reducing projects--that otherwise wouldn't happen. So which offsetters are most effective and deserve your donations? "It's a mixed bag," says Julia Bovey of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "You have to look carefully at where the money goes." Asking a couple of questions helps narrow the field. How are donations used? Only give money to organizations that will disclose the details of the projects they invest in, the percentage of funds that goes to those projects (versus regular business costs), and their status as a nonprofit (or not). They should also reveal how they calculate offsets--some factor in plane type, seat class, and other details, while others are less precise. Are results guaranteed? Delta Air Lines made news recently by becoming the first U.S. carrier to offer carbon offsets on its website. The airline gives passengers the option of donating a flat $5.50 (for any domestic round trip) or $11 (for international trips) to its partner The Conservation Fund. Most of that money is used to plant trees, however, which is less than ideal. According to Brendan Bell, the Sierra Club Global Warming and Energy Program's representative in Washington, D.C., organizations that invest in renewable energy (like solar, geo-thermal, and wind) have a definite, measurable impact and are therefore a better bet than companies focused on reforestation--because the results of planting trees are difficult to verify. The Conservation Fund, which since 2000 has planted more than nine million trees that'll reportedly capture nearly 13 million tons of CO2, obviously disagrees; for more info, see conservationfund.org. Is there a seal of approval? The fledgling carbon-offset industry is largely unregulated, so before you give any organization money, find out if an objective, trustworthy source vouches for it. Created under the auspices of the World Wildlife Fund, the Gold Standard is the strictest and best-vetted system of verifying carbon-offset projects. Outfits that meet the standard usually mention the fact prominently and display the official seal on their websites. If an organization's projects aren't approved by the Gold Standard, find out if another trustworthy third party has verified the quality. Do you have a pet cause? As with all giving, you should give to an organization that's important to you. Some offset outfits allow people to steer donations one way or another. Carbonfund.org, which has begun a partnership with Orbitz, lets donors direct their money to renewable energy, reforestation, energy-efficiency projects, or some combination thereof. Other outfits are attractive because they focus on certain initiatives--NativeEnergy, for instance, helps Native American farmers. By all means, support your favorite cause: Just be aware that environmental impact varies widely.