Posted on 12/29/2004 10:01:23 AM PST by MineralMan
I thought I'd ask the Freeper community how their airline travel experiences were this Christmas, and share a bit of mine, given the recent FR horror stories about the TSA and some of the lost luggage and other calamities:
My wife and I flew from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Los Angeles on American Airlines on the 22nd and returned on the 27th, with a stop each way in Chicago.
Security screening in Minneapolis was a breeze. Took about 2 minutes from the back of the line to get past security and into the concourse. We had to show ID's just once, to a TSA person before we got to the metal detector. No problems at all. My wife had to send her shoes through, since they had zippers. I got wished a "Merry Christmas" by the woman at the check-in counter and by two TSA workers.
On time flight all the way. Luggage arrived with us, and had not even been opened.
Coming back, LAX was crowded, and we had to wait in a line to run our checked luggage through the scanner. About 15 minute wait.
Security, as in Minneapolis, was quick, with no problems. I didn't hang around to watch what was happening at the checkpoint.
In Chicago, my wife went outside for a smoke while we were in transit between flights, so I watched the security checkpoint for about 15 minutes. I saw very few people being wanded and no pat-downs at all. A few carry-ons got swabbed, but that was it.
Did anyone have a bad experience with TSA over the Christmas period? I sure didn't.
"I’m of the opinion that most of the horror stories you hear are outright fabrications or are, at a minimum, greatly exaggerated."
I'm of the same opinion. I fly quite a bit, and have never had a single problem with TSA security. That does not mean that problems don't exist, of course, but I think they're pretty rare.
Avoid them like the plague.
Needless to say, don't be making any reservations on US Air either.
If you have flyer miles, check to see what partner airlines will honor them.....and use them soon. If not sooner.
Recently flew home from Denver to Newark Liberty. Flights on time and no security problems either.
She did get the full treatment early on.....but wanding only, no touching.
Hubby and I fly fairly regularly and have not had any problems at all.
Son flies Delta often and it's pretty much a disaster each time. Delays, missed connetions, and the like.
"Delta's Com Air
Avoid them like the plague.
Needless to say, don't be making any reservations on US Air either."
Never fly on either. I'm really sorry you had a bad Christmas trip. That sucks!
Loose lips sink ships
IMHO, Travel time and general travel mishaps are fine but don't tell where they don't do pat downs etc.
and where people are not wanded or luggage searched etc
Since you're "MineralMan", I will assume that you are male. That said, I will tell you that I too fly a lot (AA Exec. Platinum) and as a female, I have had plenty of issues with the TSA. All of them having to do with the ridiculous groping that they do to ensure that the underwire in your bra isn't a nuclear device. Hopefully, the new guidelines will limit this type of activity.
I have also found that the best thing you can do to get through security without being harassed is to do exactly what they say and always remove your shoes, your jacket even if it's only a light sweater) and keep a smile on your face. They have a rotten job and I'm sure they're not thrilled about what they have to do.
I think the real problems with the TSA (outside of the 'fondling problem') happen because people give the TSA a reason to snap back at them. I also believe there's a fair amount of "class warfare" going on and that causes problems. (Generally speaking, I would guess that the TSA folks are not frequent airline travelers and as such may see themselves as the 'have nots' up against the 'haves'.
Just my opinion....
"I have also found that the best thing you can do to get through security without being harassed is to do exactly what they say and always remove your shoes, your jacket even if it's only a light sweater) and keep a smile on your face. They have a rotten job and I'm sure they're not thrilled about what they have to do.
"
Oh, I've been doing all that stuff since 9/11. I never have a problem. My wife never wears underwire bras on flights, either. We always breeze through security.
"IMHO, Travel time and general travel mishaps are fine but don't tell where they don't do pat downs etc.
"
That's silly. They do pat downs at all airports when they're warranted. They don't do them if you come through without beeping the detector, generally, unless you're wearing some sort of bulky clothing that could hide a non-metallic device of some kind.
I'm not revealing anything here. The point here is that the question is out there and you're not seeing a lot of complaints from Freepers about TSA security.
Traveling by air is just fine these days, as far as the TSA security goes. You go to the airport and get on your plane, with a minimum of hassle, it seems to me. That's the idea, and as they've refined the procedures, the hassles have become fewer.
Again, I got "Merry Christmas" greetings from a couple of TSA folks on my trip. It was fine.
Eff 'em all, I stayed home.
And LOVED every last minute!
travel #ell ping
"Eff 'em all, I stayed home.
And LOVED every last minute!"
That's nice. My wife and I wanted to visit my 80-year-old parents in California, so I flew. I loved every last minute of the visit. It was well worth it. Who knows how many more Christmas visits I'll get with them.
When they're dead, I'll stay home.
Unnngh.
I'll have to prepare a detailed timeline.
Did I mention that -- in addition to all my other travel hassles -- I was one of the "Selected" by TSA? Oh yes.
That’s interesting because my wife wears the underwire bras and says that it usually doesn’t beep going through. In fact, on the two occasions it did beep, it was due (she thought) to the barrette she was wearing (and forgot about) rather than the bra.
And on both occasions they used the wand and never physically touched her in any way, according to her.
Flies mainly to/through Portland, Oakland, Santa Ana or Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta. Never had a single problem.
I'm of the opinion that most of the problems happen to folks who show up with a chip on their shoulder.
I flew from Madison WI on ATA at 5:00 a.m. 12/19. I was told by the airline to be there at 4:00 a.m. Security checkpoint didn't open until 4:30. I didn't figure that out until I'd walked the roped area to the checkpoint. Rather than walk back around, I ducked through the gate back to the airport lobby. TSA guy snapped: "We're not open yet!" I said, "I know. I'm just taking a shortcut." (Obviously a bad thing.) From there, it was uneventful. I, my husband, and several other passengers waited and watched as the next shift reported and were checked. When I went through the line, I was concerned, because I was flying one-way to Philadelphia. (Meeting my daughter, driving back with her in her truck.) I've been reading horror stories about the additional scrutiny given one-way travellers, but I didn't experience any additional scrutiny. We were delayed some in Chicago due to weather in Philly, and the Philly landing was just a little bumpier than usual, but otherwise fine. The woman seated next to me from Chicago-Philly was on the second leg of her first-ever flight, and was quite nervous. I kept her talking about other things, and explained some of the normal procedures with which she was unfamiliar, and she calmed down considerably.
"I'm of the opinion that most of the problems happen to folks who show up with a chip on their shoulder."
That could be.
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