"Security" at JFK Airport Now SHAKING DOWN Passengers for "Tips"!!

I flew through JFK Terminal 9 last Monday on American Eagle. I was supposed to be flying LHR-JFK-PIT-ORD and had an E-ticket receipt issued on AA stock giving the ticket number.

I arrived at the checkpoint (after clearing customs) at around 345pm for a 415pm flight and was shocked to see a handwritten sign on the ID checker's podium saying "TIPS ARE APPRECIATED".

I made a comment that that was not an appropriate thing to display, at which time Mr. Herbert Silva of Worldwide Flight Services (the security contractor) told me that my documents were not in order and that I would not be allowed to go through his checkpoint. He said that "E-Tickets are not valid on American Eagle". I am not certain if his attitude was due to ignorance, or in resentment of my comments about his sign.

I immediately asked to see the GSC (Ground Security Co-ordinator) running the checkpoint. He arrogantly told me that there was "no such thing as a GSC" and that I needed to move or he would have me arrested. I stood my ground and demanded to see the GSC. He refused and called one of the National Guard over to remove me.

I calmly explained that I was waiting for the GSC and the Guardsman backed me up, telling Mr. Silva to fetch either the GSC or his supervisor. He said that he would do so "in a few minutes".

I waited 21 minutes at the checkpoint, announcing every 5 minutes how long I had been waiting, before Mr. Silva finally left to fetch his supervisor. She arrived at 413pm and I explained my situation and told her that I was waiting for the GSC.

Her response was that the GSC was "not available right now". I told her that if the GSC was not physically present at the checkpoint, FAA regulations required that the checkpoint be shutdown and the terminal evacuated, so perhaps she would like to reconsider her answer. She hastily reworded it to say that the GSC was "in a meeting with a FAA inspector".

I immediately pulled out my business card (which gives my profession as an Aviation Consultant) and told her to go hand it to the FAA inspector saying that I would like to meet with HIM instead of the GSC. She was very flustered by now and wandered away. She returned at 422pm saying that the GSC had allegedly cleared my passage through the checkpoint.

By now, I had missed my flight so I called AA and got myself rerouted on a JFK-BOS-ORD flight that got me into Chicago 2 hours late. Fortunately, the AA staff were very co-operative about the whole thing and went out of their way to help me out once they heard the details of the incident.

I am curious as to WHO at AA I should write to about this. A contractor who unilaterally invents incorrect rules and solicits gratuities in a security screening function is completely unacceptable and reflects poorly on American Airlines.

Given the Federal jurisdiction that has been forced upon us in the name of airport "suckurity," I believe that you would do well to bring this to the attention of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney for prosecution as a felony. One should always secure witnesses to such events, and offer to serve as such for some other poor citizen in similar straits.<p. Once things are on the public record (i.e., on the court docket), you should drop a civil court summons on the perp when he/she/it shows up for trial. Nothing like a civil action to raise the consciousness of a scumbag long-term -- whether you win or not...

"This is a bunch of crap...E-Tickets are purchased online...BUT, since a week after 9/11 you are required to secure a paper ticket at the front desk."

Um, Joe, I don't mean any disrespect here, but that's not true. Even after 9/11, you have been able to clear security with a printed copy of an itinerary. I have done it repeatedly since 9/11, and I am a top-level frequent flyer on two major US airlines.

"If the airline is not enforcing that rule...they should be."

That's not a rule. It never was. You have to show boarding passes OR a printed itinerary.

"When you reach your designated gate you are required to secure a boarding pass."

No. You're not. In fact, if you use Delta's Virtual Check-In (gotta be one of their most frequent flyers to take advantage of that), you won't even get a boarding pass. I am sitting in Delta's Crown Room Club in Cincinnati as I write this, and I didn't have to have a boarding pass to get on the plane. I put my frequent flyer card under a laser scanner, and Delta knows who I am. Presto, I show a picture ID and I'm allowed on board. That went away for a while after 9/11, but the FAA has allowed Delta to do it again since December.

"Scooter in the article may, very well, be an aviation consultant. But he sure doesn't know the present rules."

B747 (Sean Mendis) is, in fact, an aviation consultant, and he is extremely conversant with the rules. Not to be confrontational, Joe, but it appears that you're the one who doesn't know them. I've never met him, but I've never known him to be wrong before.

"Had he gone to the ticket counter and secured his, previously ordered, ticket he would have had no problem."

I disagree.

"Concerning the tip jar....I have seen a number of them at Bradley....Logan...and Midway...and put a business card in each...(I hope to win a free lunch)..."

Seen any cash in any of them? Lottery-type card draws aren't the issue here. Tip jars are.

"On a side note, I fly atleast once a week and STILL have yet to notice any significant changes compared to pre-9/11 both domestically, and internationally..."

I fly as much as 7 or 8 times a week, and I agree. But you are incorrect on some of the things you're saying, Joe.

"It appears as if it is an issue that is decided differently by airline, and airport....However, the airlines I fly (American, USAir) have required a paper ticket every single time..."

I appreciate your response, Joe. That's the whole point I was trying to make, that just exactly what the procedures are will vary widely depending on the airline-airport combination you're traveling with. Your mileage will certainly vary.

I am a United Airlines 1K and a Delta Airlines Platinum Medallion (top level in both programs), and I'd say that in general, Delta is better for the elite traveler in a hurry, although I think United treats me better in flight. In Atlanta and Cincy (both are big Delta hubs), I can go through the express security lines and get to the scanner and inspectors in two minutes or less. I still get the shakedown and government-issued procto exam just like everybody else, but I get to it faster.

Delta's also got some express check-in options I like, too. You can check in online (no more than 4 hours before departure) and then print out your boarding passes at home or at work. Or you can call a 1-800 number to do Virtual Check-In (again, the 4-hour rule applies) and then show a printed itinerary to clear security. Rules on that vary by airport, but Atlanta, Cincy and Washington Dulles (among the many airports I fly into and out of) are okay with it. I like Virtual Check-In because when I get to the gate, I just give my ID and Platinum Medallion card to the agent, they check me against the manifest to be sure I really did check in on the phone, and then they swipe my Delta FF card under a laser scanner. It reads the bar code, and then I'm cleared to board. No boarding pass required. I still get checked out by security like everyone else, but I don't waste hours every week waiting in those gigantic lines. To me, those lines look like Russians waiting to buy bread.

Some airports served by Delta have self-check-in kiosks (they look like ATMs) where you can stick in your frequent flyer card and get your receipt and boarding passes.

All these speedy options have two big limitations. (1) You can't check any bags if you use them. You have to check in with a human to do that. (2) An airport's rules always trump an airline's rules. If BWI says you've got to have a logo on the itinerary, then what they say goes. I never have a problem at Dulles, and my itinerary got me through security real quick yesterday.

I never use BWI myself; that airport seems to be where all the security "enhancements" get tested before they're inflicted on the rest of the country. But I do use Reagan National and Dulles a lot, and I find all these things to be true. Again, your mileage may vary.

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