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TSA-approved locks a hit with travelers
Do you hate leaving luggage unlocked so it can be opened and checked by airport security workers?
A new lock developed in conjunction with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration enables security screeners to unlock suitcases for inspection, then relock them afterward.
The TSA has the right to check the contents of passengers' luggage -- and it still may break locks to open bags when necessary. But the innovation means that now luggage can be secured from airline workers and other passengers -- and perhaps from spilling its contents on baggage carousels.
The lock, whose names include "Travel Sentry," was approved Nov. 12 and has been a hot seller since.
TSA screeners use a special tool to open the lock without damaging it.
The retail chain Brookstone is one of the first to market the new devices. They come in two models, a key lock and a four-digit combination lock. Brookstone sells the larger combination locks for $20 a pair.
Shoppers should call ahead to check on availability because the locks have been a popular holiday gift.
According to Travel Sentry's Web site, www.travelsentry.org, each lock has a mark identifying it as being certified. It also has a special code used by the TSA to open it.
Carol Segelson, manager of the Brookstone at Pittsburgh International Airport, said the locks have been one of the store's best-selling products since they became available in November.
"We have two of them left right now," she said Friday. "They should be gone by the end of the day."
Segelson said that the more people learn about the locks, the more interested they become.
"People just really love the concept," she said. "They seem to be very excited about them."
In other Pittsburgh retail centers, the locks have sold moderately. But store officials said sales will rise as word gets out.
"We got a dozen and we're down to a half a dozen over two weeks," said Carla Copenhaver, a sales associate at the Specialty Luggage store on Liberty Avenue, Downtown. "I think you'll really see the spike in the spring."
Amy Condon, a sales associate with Rynns Luggage on East Carson Street, South Side, said of the 18 locks they received two weeks ago, only four have been sold -- two on Saturday. She also expects sales to rise as people learn about the TSA-approved locks.
"People are always asking about locks," she said.
Do you hate leaving luggage unlocked so it can be opened and checked by airport security workers?
A new lock developed in conjunction with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration enables security screeners to unlock suitcases for inspection, then relock them afterward.
The TSA has the right to check the contents of passengers' luggage -- and it still may break locks to open bags when necessary. But the innovation means that now luggage can be secured from airline workers and other passengers -- and perhaps from spilling its contents on baggage carousels.
The lock, whose names include "Travel Sentry," was approved Nov. 12 and has been a hot seller since.
TSA screeners use a special tool to open the lock without damaging it.
The retail chain Brookstone is one of the first to market the new devices. They come in two models, a key lock and a four-digit combination lock. Brookstone sells the larger combination locks for $20 a pair.
Shoppers should call ahead to check on availability because the locks have been a popular holiday gift.
According to Travel Sentry's Web site, www.travelsentry.org, each lock has a mark identifying it as being certified. It also has a special code used by the TSA to open it.
Carol Segelson, manager of the Brookstone at Pittsburgh International Airport, said the locks have been one of the store's best-selling products since they became available in November.
"We have two of them left right now," she said Friday. "They should be gone by the end of the day."
Segelson said that the more people learn about the locks, the more interested they become.
"People just really love the concept," she said. "They seem to be very excited about them."
In other Pittsburgh retail centers, the locks have sold moderately. But store officials said sales will rise as word gets out.
"We got a dozen and we're down to a half a dozen over two weeks," said Carla Copenhaver, a sales associate at the Specialty Luggage store on Liberty Avenue, Downtown. "I think you'll really see the spike in the spring."
Amy Condon, a sales associate with Rynns Luggage on East Carson Street, South Side, said of the 18 locks they received two weeks ago, only four have been sold -- two on Saturday. She also expects sales to rise as people learn about the TSA-approved locks.
"People are always asking about locks," she said.
