Given a travel related situation, and given a specific question about the situation, summarize the question into a title

When paying by card flight attendants usually ask to see your ID, to verify that the card in fact belongs to you. However it seems weird to me that pretty much no other merchants ever ask to see your ID, even when conducting purchases for thousands of euros (e.g. at IKEA).

So why do airlines insist on verifying your ID when paying by card? I understand that there's (usually) no Internet to verify the card balance on the plane (as suggested by TonyK), but how would one's ID help them out in case the card is empty?

Why do flight attendants ask to see your ID when paying by card on the airplane?

I frequently fly around Europe only with a hand luggage. Recently I bought a Kensington lock for my laptop which I usually take with me. The lock did not cause any problems at the airports in Edinburgh, Bremen, Athens, Copenhagen and Stansted. However, it almost got confiscated at the security gate at the Gdansk airport (Poland). It took me half an hour to convince the guard that I do not intend to harm anyone with that. I was told that although there are numerous hand luggage restrictions, the guard has a right to make a subjective decision whether or not to confiscate certain items.

My question is - did anyone hear about similar incidents with Kensington locks? Are there any specific rules or guidlines that I can refer to to defend my right to take the lock with me? Or maybe kensington locks should not be taken on board at all? And how do the restrictions differ around the globe?

Can I put Kensington lock in my hand luggage?

I'm planning on going to the caribbean (any part of it) during January 2012 (for 7 to 12 days) but anything above U$S 1500 per person turns out to be too expensive.

I'm basically looking for a whole package including airfare for that money, intending to buy for two people. Every suggestion comes in handy: cheap destinations, airlines, bugdet dining, etc. 

Inexpensive all-inclusive cruises can be found to some destinations, but airfare is too expensive. Some examples: to Antilles, Venezuela and Dominican Republic 

For cruises from the US I must raise a word of caution: for an Argentinean a visa is needed, which costs U$S 140 (besides, it's a pain to get :)


Budget caribbean in January from South America

