Borepatch reminds me of the good ol' days, when I used to go out to Hartsfield to watch the planes taxi around from a comfy, air-conditioned perch in Concourse E.
And he reminds me of the bad new days, when the only way flying could be more degrading is if they actually shackled you to a U.S. Marshal, instead of just treating you as though you were shackled to one.
I'll bet shipping myself as "Live Caged Monkey! Handle With Care!" via a FedEx cargo jet would be a somewhat more pleasant and streamlined travel experience.
Depends on where you fly. E.g., places like Chicago or Boston are miserable.
ReplyDeleteFlying out of Indy at the new Weir Cook terminal is relatively painless.
It is clean with more gates than other cities, friendly TSA, the only thing that took time was finding a TSA agent that could verify that the guns were unloaded.
Protip: Always insist on TSA checking your guns in front of you. Last time American told me that TSA was on "break" and could not check them in front of me. Supervisor time.
Shootin' Buddy
SB,
ReplyDelete"...friendly TSA..."
People taking pictures of my private parts through my clothes had damned well better be friendly.
There were no scanners at Indy when I flew to Texas in January. I went through metal detectors. Do not know about the present status.
ReplyDeleteAnother strange thing, flying back from Dallas, TSA did not even check my pistols. Rather they wiped my yellow Pelican case down (explosives?) and then x-rayed it and sent me on my way.
Shootin' Buddy
Oh, and as such as I find TSA feckless, I have to admit that at Weir Cook TSA was very friendly.
ReplyDeleteMaybe special training?
Shootin' Buddy
they would treat you better as a "Live Caged Monkey" because of the animal cruelty "laws". The airlines and TSA can be crual because there are no laws against it.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine who works at IND (in a position where he'd know) recently told me that TSA had been shaken up there and "unfriendly" agents had been RIFed and/or sent to reeducation camps.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe not the latter, but with TSA you never know.
When we flew to Fort Myers in late June there were no scanners at IND. Nor were there any at RSW when we came back.
Damn.
ReplyDeleteAnd I, just this week, received my renewed passport.
Now, I'm not sure why I bothered.
Getting through the TSA Kubuki Show is only the start of the fun.
ReplyDeleteThe last time (PLEASE let it be the last time!) I flew commercial on a 2 hour flight was 100 times more miserable than flying feet up on a cargo pallet in a sling seat in the back of a C-141 8 hours to Korea.
At least I got TDY pay for being treated like cargo as opposed to paying for the "privilege".
We think TSA's job is to protect the country. TSA thinks their job is to protect the state. They don't see the difference.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is one of the main reasons I fly my own plane, instead of going commercial, whenever I can.
ReplyDeleteTook my 16 year old into O'Hare last month for several flights to get to Western Australia. United has this new computer you punch your info into and out comes your tickets - kind of. You have to stand at the counter and wait for the ONE guy there to check it all out and do the baggage. ONE #$&* guy to handle ALL the international flights United has there. Took a couple of hours.
ReplyDeleteThen went through security and the real intense and weird looking TSA guy checking tickets suddenly found a reason to do a thourgh hands on body search of a yound boy. Really, really wanted to ask a few questions but you know it's move along sir, this is a secure area.Personally a 22 behind the ear might help this guy out a lot. Not that I'm threatening the TSA or anything.
My rule, after watching TSA at work during a round-trip out to the other coast, is that I will only fly commercial if somebody is paying me for the trouble.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise if I can't get there by car (or amtrak), I'm not going.
Am I the only one who, on reading Tam's comment on "friendly" screeners, thought of the "Fly Me!" and "Friendly Skies" commercials?
ReplyDeleteI'd pay cash money at a movie theater to see a good "Airplane" style parody, updated for the Tewenty-First Century ...
"Advanced Imaging Technology" is a euphemism created to make people think they are getting "scanned." No one is getting "scanned" -- they are getting strip searched.
ReplyDeleteThe fundamental privacy issue is whether our government has the right to make strip searches routine and mandatory.
There is no question that these machines violate the 4th Amendment.
There are also health issues. Researchers are already coming out saying that the machines aren't safe and could cause cancer.
Please check out the brochure at:
http://www.nudeoscope.com
http://dontscan.us
http://dontscan.me
and join us on Facebook
All Facebook Against Airport Full Body Scanners
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=239458517874
and join in on Flyertalk.com
Organized resistance to WBI/invasive patdowns
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-safety-security/1119548-organized-resistance-wbi-invasive-patdowns.html
HELP PUT A STOP TO THE TYRANNY!