Taking iBook on a plane

[yg17]

I'm leaving for vacation 2 weeks from Sunday. First time flying since 9/11 and first time taking anything more valuable than a cheap portable CD player with me in my carryon. My iBook and iPod will be going with me. So will there be any issues with security? Will the X-Ray machine or metal detector screw up anything on my iBook or iPod?

Also, since I'm in coach and I dont believe power jacks are available (nor do I have a cigarette lighter adapter), do you guys think my iBook battery will last the full flight from St. Louis to NY-Laguardia (nonstop) while watching a DVD or something?

Thanks.

 

[sethypoo]

I'm leaving for vacation 2 weeks from Sunday. First time flying since 9/11 and first time taking anything more valuable than a cheap portable CD player with me in my carryon. My iBook and iPod will be going with me. So will there be any issues with security? Will the X-Ray machine or metal detector screw up anything on my iBook or iPod?

Also, since I'm in coach and I dont believe power jacks are available (nor do I have a cigarette lighter adapter), do you guys think my iBook battery will last the full flight from St. Louis to NY-Laguardia (nonstop) while watching a DVD or something?

Thanks.

Your iPod and iBook will be fine on your trip. The x-ray detector will have no effect on your hardware; be aware that when you get up to the security screening location, they will make you take your iBook out of your carry on and its case and place it on a seperate tray to be sent through the x-ray machine.

I would recommend turning off your Airport card before you board the plane.....I don't know for sure how the Airport signal effects the pilots communications equipment, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I pray you have a safe trip, to and from where ever you're going.

Seth

 

[puckhead193]

The airport security will make you take your ibook out and place it in a sepreate container. BUT i would recommand putting a jacket or a sweater over it so when you go to the otherside no one will really see your ibook sitting their. keep your eye on it while passing through. Other then that its pretty painless. Just keep your eye on it while passing through security. Also make sure the container is free of sand and dirt, i heard alot of people PB getting scratched from it.
Have fun in NY, its a great city

 

[yg17]

Your iPod and iBook will be fine on your trip. The x-ray detector will have no effect on your hardware; be aware that when you get up to the security screening location, they will make you take your iBook out of your carry on and its case and place it on a seperate tray to be sent through the x-ray machine.

I would recommend turning off your Airport card before you board the plane.....I don't know for sure how the Airport signal effects the pilots communications equipment, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I pray you have a safe trip, to and from where ever you're going.

Seth

Thanks.

I'll probably just take out my Airport card before I leave and throw it in my bag and install it when I get to the hotel since that takes 30 seconds, then go around New York City finding free WiFi

 

[Gwendolyn]

We had no problems taking my husband's PowerBook and iPod on a plane from Boston to Oakland... except that at security, they make you take it out of the case and put it in its own plastic container, and my husband accidentally dropped it on the ground. It wasn't far, maybe about a foot and a half, but he was pretty devastated and worried--at least until he realized there wasn't any damage and he was lucky. It's probably worth being careful to keep an eye on it for security purposes--we used a Booq Powersleeve and put it into a normal Jansport backpack so it wouldn't attract the wrong kind of attention. The X-Ray machines didn't hurt the equipment.

My parents recently flew with a (PC) laptop and had put it in the overhead compartment, and weren't careful enough opening the compartment after the flight, causing their laptop to fall from a great height and break despite being in some kind of protective case. So if you store it in the overhead compartment, you might want to be careful of that hazard as well. We also know a guy whose laptop screen was broken while it was sitting on the tray and the person in front of them suddenly reclined their seat. I don't know if it was an Apple laptop or not, or what the probability is that this would ever happen again, but just mentioned it so you could watch for that in case you were worried about it. On our flight, my husband still broke down and used his laptop a bit, but not very much, and he was very careful about it--probably in part due to his scare in the X-Ray line (and since he didn't use it very much, I won't address your question about battery usage, but hopefully someone here can help!).

 

[KingSleaze]

Playing a DVD is particularly trying on the battery, bring a spare. Having taken my powerbook on several trips, don't worry about Airport being turned on, nothing on my flights noticed it (however, I think Jet Blue might be putting wifi on their planes for passengers to use for in flight access to the internet). Keep an eye on your book going through security. Enjoy the trip.

 

[buryyourbrideau]

just make sure you do a full charge before the trip and set the processor settings to the lowest possible

im sure you will be alright

 

[yg17]

Playing a DVD is particularly trying on the battery, bring a spare. Having taken my powerbook on several trips, don't worry about Airport being turned on, nothing on my flights noticed it (however, I think Jet Blue might be putting wifi on their planes for passengers to use for in flight access to the internet). Keep an eye on your book going through security. Enjoy the trip.

Yeah, I was considering purchasing a spare until I saw the price, I can live with not being able to use my iBook for a bit on the plane

 

[wordmunger]

One caution: Make sure your iPod goes through the X-Ray machine -- you don't want it anywhere near the magnetic walk-through detector. That's what can damage it.

By contrast, if you have a regular film camera, you should try to take that through the walk-through: the X-Rays will expose the film. If they won't let you take it through the walk-through, ask for a hand inspection.

 

[Aaon]

If you're flying STL-LGA, there is a strong chance you're flying American, in which case there may be power available to you on the flight. I've never done this, but many co-workers say its easy to use. You will need an adapter, but these can be found at many stores such as Radio Shack and Best Buy. If you are unsure if power will be available, give the airline a quick call, and they may be able to tell you.

And don't worry about the x-ray machine. As people have said, the laptop will have to go through separately, but no damage will occur. The only thing I worry about is scratches from the bins that you put the laptops in...

 

[andiwm2003]

Thanks.

I'll probably just take out my Airport card before I leave and throw it in my bag and install it when I get to the hotel since that takes 30 seconds, then go around New York City finding free WiFi

leave the airport in. on some flights they have wireless internet, on my last flight from europe (lufthansa) it was even for free. that keeps you up to date with macrumors and what can be more important?

 

[The Past]

Why pull Airport out? Just turn it off from the menu.

I have used an iBook on STL-JFK with brightness on 1 and Airport turned off without any power issues. On movies, I think you may get better battery life if you are reading off your HD than a disc. Of course, non-issue if you are viewing commercial DVDs.

 

[2wheeler]

If you're flying STL-LGA, there is a strong chance you're flying American, in which case there may be power available to you on the flight. I've never done this, but many co-workers say its easy to use. You will need an adapter, but these can be found at many stores such as Radio Shack and Best Buy. If you are unsure if power will be available, give the airline a quick call, and they may be able to tell you.

If you know your seat # and what type of plane you're flying on, Seat Expert will tell you whether or not you have seat power.

 

[mipsmonsta]

leave the airport in. on some flights they have wireless internet, on my last flight from europe (lufthansa) it was even for free. that keeps you up to date with macrumors and what can be more important?

Is there on coach or business class? Cannot imagine free internet access since most airport are not even free. Is it me or are wireless hotspots are dwindling in numbers.

 

[Macky-Mac]

if you're flying on American Airlines you'll find that they tell you to disable your wireless if you want to use your laptop

 

[dotdotdot]

Heres the deal:

XRay is not harmful at all, except you dont want to leave it on or in sleep... turn it off.

A lot of the time, they will pick it up, open it, or ask you to turn it on. Also, my dads Dell notebook got scratched because they put this cream on it to check for stuff on it...

Turn off the airport and bluetooth, because this will interfere with the pilot stuff, unless they let you use wireless internet.

AND, the most important thing: make sure you keep your eye on it the entire time! They make you leave your iPod and iBook open infront of everyone, and if something beeps, you'll go to the side and stretch out your arms and legs and they will scan you while your iPod and iBook are in the open for anyone to take.

Finally, turn off everything until they say its safe to use approved electronics.

---

Just a tip, if you see some idiot talking on their cell phone during the flight, tell them to hang up or call a flight attendant. I was on 2 flights with people on their cell phones and both flights the flight attendants took their cell phones away until they landed.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

AirPort and Bluetooth will *NOT* interfere with anything on the plane. (Other than possibly other people trying to use AirPort or Bluetooth.) Neither will cell phones. (Nextel possibly, GSM and CDMA are 100% safe.) It's all scare tactics. Not a single incident has ever been proven to have been caused by passenger-carried common consumer electronics.

Now, if you're carrying a handheld aircraft-frequency scanner, *THAT* might interfere. But don't worry about AirPort and Bluetooth. (Don't try to argue with the flight attendants, either, though. Just say "Yes," and make a show of turning it off. Then turn it right back on when they've walked away, if you actually have need for it. But, it's also better for your battery to leave them off.)

I always find it fun to turn on AirPort, see if there are any other people on the plane with a Peer-to-peer AirPort network going, and see what I find. (I talked to a guy over iChat/Rendezvous (or Bonjour, as it's now called,) on my recent flight to Hawaii. Turns out he was about 12 rows behind me, opposite side of the plane.)

As for the X-Ray machine? As was mentioned, don't let undeveloped film go through (it isn't guaranteed to destroy it, but it will make pictures on it turn out a little grainy,) but other than that, anything you'll be carrying should be fine. As for the metal detector? It's 100% safe for anything. Both are safe for a computer even if it's on or in sleep mode. I usually keep mine in sleep so I can quickly prove it's a real computer if they ask me to turn it on.

 

[Mechcozmo]

I'll probably just take out my Airport card before I leave and throw it in my bag and install it when I get to the hotel since that takes 30 seconds, then go around New York City finding free WiFi

Just leave it in and turn if off via the menu bar...

Then turn it right back on when they've walked away, if you actually have need for it. But, it's also better for your battery to leave them off.)

I've never found a use for Airport on a plane, or Bluetooth... so mine stay off.

As for the X-Ray machine? As was mentioned, don't let undeveloped film go through (it isn't guaranteed to destroy it, but it will make pictures on it turn out a little grainy,) but other than that, anything you'll be carrying should be fine. As for the metal detector? It's 100% safe for anything. Both are safe for a computer even if it's on or in sleep mode. I usually keep mine in sleep so I can quickly prove it's a real computer if they ask me to turn it on.

Actually sleep isn't a great state for your Mac to be in as it passes through. Because the information is stored in RAM, if some radiation flips a few bits then your Mac may be unable to wake up, forcing you to hard-restart it.

 

[javiercr]

luftwansa

Is there on coach or business class? Cannot imagine free internet access since most airport are not even free. Is it me or are wireless hotspots are dwindling in numbers.

Luftwansa is the only one doing it right now, it's a trial and that's why it's free.

 

[YS2003]

If you take more than one notebook computer, does it cause problems at the security? I have a work pc and personal Mac and I am wondering if I can take both when I travel. Or, I take 3 or 4 notebooks with me via plan when I move to different city. Has anyone tried that? I don't want people touching my computers and I would like to be as hassel free as possible.

 

[dmw007]

Just watch that no overly jealous windblows user tries to steal your iBook. Windows causes people to do odd things.

 

[Invizzible]

I took a 17" powerbook and a 12" ibook on a flight once, and they didn't hassle me about having two laptops. Also, some planes provide empower jacks for coach seats, but sometimes only SOME of the seats have it. Ask your airline which, if any, seats on your flight have it. I used the cheapest cord I could find to plug into the empower jack. It was $29 from the Apple store. The cord says it won't charge the battery up, only power the laptop, but it actually did recharge the battery while I was watching movies.

 

[BKKloppenborg]

By contrast, if you have a regular film camera, you should try to take that through the walk-through: the X-Rays will expose the film. If they won't let you take it through the walk-through, ask for a hand inspection.

true my family and i went to Egypt one year for fun and took i swear to god about 50 rolls of film.. Anyways on the way back we told the security that we didn't want to put film in the security X-Ray because it would dammage it and that he was more then welcome to look though all 50 rolls LOL... He said no and made us put the Film in X-ray and then it was dammged most of film was eaten alive were were pissed...

 

[yg17]

true my family and i went to Egypt one year for fun and took i swear to god about 50 rolls of film.. Anyways on the way back we told the security that we didn't want to put film in the security X-Ray because it would dammage it and that he was more then welcome to look though all 50 rolls LOL... He said no and made us put the Film in X-ray and then it was dammged most of film was eaten alive were were pissed...

Thats why you get those lead bags to put film in. The lead blocks the x-rays, keeping the film safe

 

[annk]

Sorry for the late post, just saw this thread...

One airline (think it was Continental) told me that taking two laptops on board in addition to carry-on luggage was out of the question, but when I persisted and suggested that one laptop could be put in the carry-on and one carried separately, the customer service woman said that would be fine. Strange, since it stands to reason that you'd have to take the one laptop out of the carry-on to prove it's a laptop (I assume they'd see it when the bag was x-rayed). So why you just couldn't carry on two, is a mystery.