Flying Pasties hide your privates from full body scanners

by Mike Barish on

We’ve covered the issue of full body scanners in airports pretty extensively here at Gadling. More and more airports are implementing the security devices and more people are crying foul as they fear that their right to privacy is being disregarded. Now, a creative company has introduced a product to protect travelers’ privacy, modesty and genitalia. Flying Pasties (some images potentially NSFW) are rubber pads that you place over your nether regions so that anyone reviewing your image on a full body scanner doesn’t see anything that you wouldn’t want to expose without first being taken out for dinner.

Flying Pasties aren’t stickers or paper cut-outs. They’re 2mm thick pieces of rubber that adhere to your skin to cover your breasts and genitalia. According to the manufacturer, when your image appears on the full body scanner monitors, areas of skin covered by the Flying Pasties will not be visible to the security agent.

The pasties come in sets for women including two breast pasties and one bottom and one bottom piece for males. They are emblazoned with text such as “Private” and “Only my husband sees me naked.” The company does offer the option to customize the message your pasties.

Flying Pasties sets for women retail for $24.99, but the company is offering an introductory rate of $16.99. Male bottoms are $9.99 and a set for a man and woman is currently $19.99 instead of $29.99.

Would you wear rubber pasties to hide your naughty bits? Have you been exposed by a full body scanner? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Ask Gadling: How do I get bumped from a flight?

by Grant Martin on

Today’s question comes from Mary in San Jose, CA:

Hi, I’m flying from San Jose to Appleton, WI. I’d like to know what to do if I get bumped? Will they let me call the person waiting for me to let them know I won’t be on time?

Gadling: What Mary’s referring to is the legendary “bump,” the notion that if a flight is oversold that the airline will offer passengers compensation to skip it and take the next best route. Rarely, they may even involuntarily bump passengers and offer a higher rate of compensation, but this event is pretty uncommon — lots of people usually volunteer for the initial bump call because they want vouchers for future travel.

Should you find yourself on an overbooked flight, Mary, gate agents will first likely make an announcement in the gate area asking if anyone is willing to change flights for a travel voucher. For a domestic flight, this is usually around $300, but this can be slightly more or less.

If you hear this announcement, you want to be the first person up to that counter to volunteer — there will be plenty of other willing people in the same boat as you.

View more Ask Gadling: Travel Advice from an Expert or send your question to ask [at] gadling [dot] com.

Before you run up to the gate all helter-skelter though, make sure you’re well prepared for the consequences. If there are no alternative routes home that day, you may be forced to spend the night in your current city or worse, even in the airport. You also may be forced to endure long layovers either at your current location or somewhere en route on the way home. Is that worth the flight voucher? Only you can tell.

Not sure if your flight is overbooked? You can always go to seatcounter.com to check how full your flights are. It can be difficult to read, but if you look up your flight and see lots of red zeroes next to it then you can bet that it’s overbooked.

Alternatively, you can always call the airline to ask how full the flight is — they’re not legally obligated to tell you if the flight is overbooked, but they’ll give you a good indication. And if you find the right agent, he or she will tell you how overbooked it is.

As a rule of thumb, Mary, assume that your flight isn’t overbooked and that it’s going to operate as normal. If you do get bumped, you should have plenty of time to reorient your return trip, make a few calls and get yourself in order for your next flight(s).

If you want more details on the whole process and how to engineer it to your advantage, check out Gadling’s Guide to Getting Bumped that we published a couple of years back.

[photo credit via the strangely familiar davitydave on flickr]

The Onion on the newest in airport security

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Airport security, as we’ve often pointed out here at Gadling, is in dire need of a makeover. After a number of close calls in the last few years, it seems that the TSA has finally made some positive changes to keep travelers moving swiftly and safely.

Well, at least according to The Onion. Here are a couple “improvements” our friends at the TSA have made recently, as reported by the crack squad of investigators at America’s Finest News Source:

  • Instead of broadcasting CNN on the televisions by the gates, passengers in waiting areas will be shown episodes of 24 to get their adrenaline going in case they need to knock down a terrorist.
  • Newsstands are to begin selling copies of Modern Terrorist and report people who pick it up.
  • Using an ultrasonic frequency imperceptible to the conscious mind, the FAA will broadcast the audiobook of Marley And Me in an effort to subliminally warm would-be terrorists’ hearts.

Am I alone in thinking that these ideas sound just as good as something the TSA might actually propose?

More here.

ANA brings keg beer to 30,000 ft

by Grant Martin on

Spend enough time in the friendly skies and you being to notice that things taste a bit different. Perhaps it’s the air pressure and humidity when 6 miles above sea level, or maybe the small child that’s crying and pooping all over your armrest, but something about airline food, drink and air just tastes weird.

As a result, when tidbits from terra firma are successfully emulated upstairs, people get excited. A recent thread on Flyertalk announcing that American Airlines was bringing Illy Issimo coffee to some flights had dozens of airline nerds reaching for hand lotion, and every time a new snack or beverage gets loaded into Gate Gourmet the servers at Airliners.net heave under the heavy load.

These improvements, however, aren’t without careful targeting. Many passengers, especially those flying in business and first class cabins are willing to make their choice in airline based on the catering, and one small change can mean a slew of ticket sales or losses. Perhaps that’s why All Nippon Airways (ANA) is bringing keg beer to some of its flights.

It’s genius, in a way, as many a beer-lover can tell you that draft beer tastes many times better than anything straight out of the can (perhaps because of the air pressure or small children.)

Unfortunately, most westerners won’t be able to try out the draft beer any time soon. Draft beer will only be available on select flights out of Japan, and even then, only on certain routes. Let’s hope that the trend will catch on soon and that draft beer will soon be on Delta Connection flights from Peoria to Chicago.

[Photo via Hyougushi on Flickr]

Ask Gadling – What can I do on a layover for free?

by Annie Scott on


Today’s Ask Gadling question comes from Linda in Indianapolis.

“What can you do in airports for free? I have a five-hour layover in Seattle next month, and a shorter one in Detroit on the way back. It seems like every time I have a layover, especially when I’m by myself, I end up spending about $50 on food and beverages because there’s nothing else to do. Is there anything that’s free?”

Gadling: Linda, I feel your pain. Airports, movie theaters and ballparks all rob you blind because they know they’ve got you captive. Now that few (if any) airlines provide meals on domestic flights, you’re even more likely to be suckered into buying a $10 sandwich that’s worth about 50 cents. You’ve gotta eat, right? And, if you’re anything like me, a bloody mary or beer is a standard way to pass the time, and they’re not cheap, either. There is very little to do for free in the airport, so you have to bring or make your own fun. Here are some ways to do that:

Treat the layover like part of the flight.

No kissing of the ground, no snacks. This really only works if you have a short layover, or you could get really hungry, but when you’ve got under two hours to kill, just park yourself in a chair and pretend you’re still on the plane. Read your book or Kindle, chill out with your iPod and enjoy the lack of turbulence.

Shop for future reference.

Do you keep a wishlist of any kind? Creating one or adding to it is a great way to kill time at most airports. Go try on clothes, look at new gadgets and browse the book selection. Keep a record of what you like (and your size in the clothes), then find it all cheaper on the internet when you get home — or just add it to your What I Want For My Birthday list. See? Layovers can be productive.

View more Ask Gadling: Travel Advice from an Expert or send your question to ask [at] gadling [dot] com.

Play games with the travelers.

There’s nothing like playing games with people who don’t realize it. Make up a game for yourself like counting mullets or bright orange accessories, or try to guess who in the waiting area is flying first class (and see who jumps up when pre-boarding is announced). If a whole slew of travelers walks by, try to guess where their plane came from, and then go look. These games are better with friends, but if you keep track of your “scores,” you can play against yourself at various airports.

Treat it like an afternoon at home.

Imagine you were just going to sit at home for five hours. What would you do? Watch TV? Well, you may not get channel control in the airport, but there are TVs with news and weather running, and you can always download some TV shows to your computer, phone or iPod. Would you work? Draw a picture? Would you feast on carrot sticks? Preparation is key; bring yourself a snack, a magazine and anything else you’d pay double for at the airport.

Brush your teeth.

Five minutes down.

Remember that layovers are a normal thing and everyone else is waiting, too.

I know part of the reason I end up at the bar is that I feel sorry for myself. “Poor me. I have to sit in the airport and wait again. I deserve a chardonnay and a cheeseburger.” If I think about it, that’s pretty lame. Everyone has layovers sometimes, it’s just how it goes. If I think: “I am not a special snowflake, I am one of a bazillion travelers waiting in the airport.” — the notion helps me resist the urge to pamper myself with impromptu manicures, massages and $12 margaritas. Strike up a conversation with someone else who looked bored (but do remember that reading does not equal bored, nor does sleeping, eating or working).

Got more than four hours? Get out of the airport.

Awhile back, we did a series of Layover articles on Gadling. You can search Gadling for “Layover” and the name of the city you’ll be stranded in, and if we covered it, there will be an article about how to best spend some time there, both in and out of the airport. Not all the activities are free, but if you’re spending money to see the city, doesn’t that feel better? Here are Detroit and Seattle.

[Photo credit: Annie Scott]