A Briggs Passport & Visa Expeditors

American Airlines has started to test full-service, high-speed broadband Internet service one airplane. It estimates that by the summer it will offer Internet service on all its Boeing 767-200 aircraft and then slowly add service to all its aircraft.

The service will be provided on the aircraft to passengers’ wireless devices, including laptops and Apple iPhones. For flights of more than three hours, wireless service will cost $12.95, with a charge of $10.00 planned for shorter flights. American will earn a small amount of revenue from the service, but an American Airlines official Backelin said its main goal was to improve its customers experience.

American is subcontracting the service to an outside company. which has a license from the Federal Communications Commission to provide wireless and broadband services to business and commercial aircraft in the continental U.S.

The WiFi connection will work only for data communication. Cellphone and voice over Internet service will not be offered or available because the FAA hasn’t approved the use of cellphones in flight

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Planning a trip? Is your passport up to date? Click here to order a Passport.

The new passport card has information encoded electronically in the card to speed processing of citizens coming back into the U.S. The card has been criticized by some for the fact that the data in the card could be hacked into because the data can be picked up from more than a few inches away. The critics say the data could compromise the holder’s personal information.

We have never agreed with this criticism because the only data on the card is a unique number of the holder that has nothing to do with their identity. Instead the number is only good for use on the database of the U.S. Customs officials. When put into Customs computer database, the number will identify the holder, so he or she can be correctly and immediately identified and allowed to enter the U.S.

So even if someone did successfully hack into the card and get the passport card number of the holder, it would only be helpful if they also had hacked into the Customs database, and that is as close to impossible as the government can guarantee. We respect the integrity of the databases of the U.S. government, so we do not think the passport card is a personal security risk.

Read an interesting editorial on this subject by the Buffalo News whose readers are heavily impacted by this card because they are only a few miles from the Canadian border.

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Planning a trip? Is your passport up to date? Click here to order a Passport.

The Department of Homeland Security is placing anti-missile systems on several passenger planes flying in and out of John F. Kennedy Airport.

The program will test to see if the anti-missile systems are effective in helping prevent a terrorist from using a shoulder-fired missile to shoot down a passenger jet. Three of the anti-missile systems will be placed on American Airlines flights flying between JFK and airports in California, officials said.

Military jets have the equipment and there were recent tests on non-passenger cargo flights.

The anti-missile system are attached underneath the aircraft and have a jamming technology that causes heat seeking missiles to go off course.

The program has been instituted because the FBI has conducted sting operations in Albany and Newark where several men were charged for trying to obtain or smuggle shoulder-fired missiles into the U.S.

DHS officials noted that there has been no attempts to use these missiles to strike an aircraft inside the U.S., but there have been several incidents overseas.

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Planning a trip? Is your passport up to date? Click here to order a Passport.

A new program signed into law on December 27, 2007, will allow international travelers to register in advance of travel to speed their passage through security checkpoints at U.S. airports.

The government will publish guidelines for the program within about a year. It will be similar to the domestic Registered Traveler program that private contractors operate at U.S. airports.

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Planning a trip? Is your passport up to date? Click here to order a Passport.

The Department of Homeland Security is placing anti-missile systems on several passenger planes flying in and out of John F. Kennedy Airport.

The program will test to see if the anti-missile systems are effective in helping prevent a terrorist from using a shoulder-fired missile to shoot down a passenger jet. Three of the anti-missile systems will be placed on American Airlines flights flying between JFK and airports in California, officials said.

Military jets have the equipment and there were recent tests on non-passenger cargo flights.

The anti-missile system are attached underneath the aircraft and have a jamming technology that causes heat seeking missiles to go off course.

The program has been instituted because the FBI has conducted sting operations in Albany and Newark where several men were charged for trying to obtain or smuggle shoulder-fired missiles into the U.S.

DHS officials noted that there has been no attempts to use these missiles to strike an aircraft inside the U.S., but there have been several incidents overseas.

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Planning a trip? Is your passport up to date? Click here to order a Passport.

A new program signed into law on December 27, 2007, will allow international travelers to register in advance of travel to speed their passage through security checkpoints at U.S. airports.

The government will publish guidelines for the program within about a year. It will be similar to the domestic Registered Traveler program that private contractors operate at U.S. airports.

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Planning a trip? Is your passport up to date? Click here to order a Passport.

Passport Update on new Passport Rules From A Briggs Passport & Visa Expeditors

January 4, 2008

FIRST: New regulations go into effect on January 31st that require all persons entering or re-entering the U.S. to show proof of citizenship. Prior to that date, persons can continue to prove citizenship verbally.

Proof of citizenship can be accomplished by presenting a valid passport, an original or certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate, or an original copy of your certificate of citizenship or naturalization. We recommend a passport because it is the only document that proves both your citizenship and your identity.

SECOND: The Department of State, the agency of the Federal Government that issues passports, issued new rules regarding the new passport card on December 31, 2007. Here is a summary of everything covered in the new regulations. As you will see, there are more rules to be issued in the future telling citizens when and how the State Department will begin issuing passport cards. When and how the State Department will begin issuing the passport cards is not yet known.

1. The State Department will issue passport cards. The official name of the document will be “passport cards.” State will continue to issue “passport books” which up until now we have known as a “passport.”
2. The passport card is valid only for passage through land and sea ports between the U.S. and Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda. The passport card cannot be used for flights into or out of the U.S.
3. The passport card will be issued to citizens in all 50 states but it is exclusively for use for land and sea entrance to the U.S. Passport cards cannot be used for international air travel.
4. Passport cards can be used for identification for domestic flights. Remember: the passport card can be used as government-issued proof of identity and proof of citizenship. So, if you do not have a driver’s license and need identification for passing through security for domestic travel, you can use your passport card for proof of identity instead of presenting your driver’s license.
5. Passport cards have the same validity as passport books – 10 years for adults 16 and over and 5 years for children under 16.
6. Citizens will be able to apply for a passport card at any acceptance agent on the same basis as a regular passport.
7. Passport books must be signed on the signature page by the passport holder to be valid. Passport cards do not have to be signed to be valid.
8. The passport cards will be able to be scanned at U.S. borders when a person is in the vicinity of an electronic reader that will be operated by U.S. border control officials. The chip in the card contains only one item of information – a unique identifying number that has meaning only inside the secure database of the State Department and Homeland Security Department. There is no personal information such as name, date of birth, social security number, etc. stored electronically on the chip. So, if someone did pick up the signal, they would not be able to use the data to learn anything about the holder.
9. The execution fee for applying for a passport card is $25. The execution fee for applying for a passport book is $30.
10. The fees for obtaining a passport card for persons without a passport are as follows:
    • Adults: Total $45 — $20 application fee, plus $25 execution fee
    • Children under 16: Total $35 — $10 application fee, plus $25 execution fee
11. Persons who have a valid passport book (Remember: a “passport book” means a person who has a “passport”) and who are applying for a passport card (in addition to holding a valid passport) are not required to pay the execution fee. Thus, persons with a valid passport who also want a passport card can apply for $20.
12. The government may permit alternative documentation for land crossings such as driver’s licenses issued by states that have established methods for determining citizenship acceptable to the Federal government. Several states have already submitted proposals to the Federal government. This matter will be addressed in subsequent regulations issued by the Federal government.

We’ll keep you posted.

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Planning a trip? Is your passport up to date? Click here to order a Passport.

Arthur Frommer, who writes the Frommers travel books published his New Year’s resolutions for 2008 and we found it very interesting. We add a few ourselves to suggest tips to make travel easier.

Frommer’s resolutions:

1) I will limit myself to carry-ons, and never check a single bag;

2) I will carry sandwiches from home, and never bite into a single airline snack;

3) I will use public transportation from airport into town;

4) I will never book a connecting flight; if there’s no non-stop to my destination, I won’t go there (with some exceptions);

5) I will share courses with my wife, ordering a single main plate for the two of us;

6) I will stop patronizing “duty-free” shops;

7) I will never book an uncomfortable “boutique hotel” designed by a famous fashionista;

I will never use a credit card that doesn’t earn frequent flyer mileage;

9) I will never board a cruise ship carrying more than 700 passengers;

and 10) I will remain calm and unperturbed by refusing to read the travel section of the New York Times

And here are the New Year’s resolutions from A Briggs Passport & Visa Expeditors:

1) I will check the website of every airport before going there to depart or transit to obtain information about parking, wait times, food options, Wifi availability, amenities such as massages, spas, shopping, etc.

2) Park as close to airports as possible (and pay extra for the privilege) so I don’t have to wait on buses to take me to my car.

3) secure my boarding pass 24 hours in advance of my departure.

4) Mark my bag (that looks like someone else’s bag) with distinct bright yellow or orange colors, so someone doesn’t pick up my bag by mistake at the baggage claim area.

5) Check the public transportation status in cities to which I am traveling to ensure there are no strikes or other activities that make getting around difficult at my destination.

6) Join one of the services that allows me to go the front of the line at the security clearance.

7) Renew your passport six months before it expires.

Apply for one of the new passport cards that you can use to cross the land borders to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. You may not need it but if you lose your passport, you’re covered.

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Planning a trip? Is your passport up to date? Click here to order a Passport.

If you want to carry extra lithium batteries on a flight, don’t pack them in your checked luggage. You can take them in your carry-on luggage, but each battery must be placed in a separate resealable platic bag or the original package.

If you have lithium in your camera, cell phone, laptop, etc., you can leave them in the device and that is allowed.

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Planning a trip? Is your passport up to date? Click here to order a Passport.

The State Department will soon begin issuing passport cards equipped with electronic data chips to U.S. citizens who travel frequently between the United States and Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.

The $45 card will be optional and cannot be used for air travel. The chip will contain a unique identifying number linked to information in a secure government database but not to names, Social Security numbers or other personal information. It will also come with a protective sleeve to guard against hackers trying to skim data wirelessly.

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Planning a trip? Is your passport up to date? Click here to order a Passport.