Dear Sir, I am writing you this letter because I have a vision of what the large carriers can do to help the American economy get back to speed. It relates to the travel industry, and relies on the appropriate people taking action. One of the problems we have today traveling in this country is how we handle baggage. The current system seems to be a highly developed after thought. The airline industry has continued to band-aid the current system, striving only for acceptable if not almost good enough as their goal. The current system had these problems previous to 09/11/2001. 1) When people are in a hurry to catch a flight they have to drag around heavy bags. Heavy bags and hurrying do not go well together. 2) Heavy bags make the use of public transportation at times unthinkable. 3) Waiting in lines dragging, around heavy bags is not fun. 4) Using the restrooms with these bags is not possible. You can't leave bags un-attended. 5) Packing the bags while being in the mindset of getting ready for the trip lends itself to leaving out important items. 6) Baggage handlers at the airport can be rough on baggage due to the time constraints they are forced to work with. 7) Your bags might not make it to the destination on your flight. You won't know this until you get there. I have only listed my top issues, but as a traveler, I am sure that you can easily double this list. After September 11, 2001 additional security at the airports only made things much worse. The costs of this additional security checking on baggage results in the customers paying more for a bad service. The new security requirements I feel was the straw that broke the camels back. The airline industry's band-aided up baggage system has now become unacceptable. What I propose is a travel grade baggage system. Most travelers buy their tickets at least a week in advance for economic reasons. I am sure that the airlines could provide this data. This is the system that I envision. 1) When traveling, you pack your bags 1 week or more in advance, and drop off you bags at a convenient location. This location may be the local grocery store, the travel agent, a Wal-Mart, or other drop off location. A tracking number would be given out with a ticket. Maybe a scan of a driver's license or other imaging may be gathered for security reasons. This image could be printed and attached to the baggage. 2) On a loose schedule, (It may be every other day, ..) the baggage carriers would deliver and pick up baggage at the convenient locations. 3) The baggage would go through regional or centralize hubs for economic reasons. These hubs would make any security and/or law enforcement scans more economical. These scans would not in any way affect the traveler's busy travel day. 4) When having a week or more to deliver baggage, logistics and planning can be used to make the moving of those bags much more economical. Empty space on trucks or maybe even airplanes may be used at the discretion of the shipper. 5) The traveler could use the tracking number to determine if the bags arrived at the destination, even before leaving for the airport. 6) Where the bags get delivered to would be determined by optional purchasable services. Some people would like their bags delivered to the hotel. Others may want to pick up their bags at a local pickup location. Picking up bags at the destination airport may be offered, but that would re-introduce some of the problems with the current system. 7) When the travelers leave home, they would just get to the airport, go through much less hassle and not carry anything significant onto the plane. 8) The airlines could give a no baggage credit to the passengers. This along with a no-baggage tax credit given by the government for reducing the need for baggage scanning equipment at every airport should more than pay for the new system. The total cost out of pocket for travelers should be the same or less, but they would be getting better service. (Don't forget about the tips given to baggage handlers at airports, hotels and in cabs) With this new type of system, the problem of dangerous baggage being brought on airplanes can be reduced significantly. The use of spare space on existing trucks would help reduce costs. The fact that the bags are on trucks instead of airplanes makes them less of a security risk. I think that the airlines need a shot in the arm to get back up to speed. Nowadays, people are rethinking their driving -vs- flying options because of their recent experiences flying. If you use this idea, please contact me. The idea for this system is patent pending. I hope that this can make a difference in our countries economy. Dave Hansen 6311 Silverlake Trail. Cary, IL 60013 dave@thehansens.com (847)639-0082