I will be arriving at Terminal 9 and leaving then from Terminal 8 - AA, bags checked through I am assuming from SJC to LHR. I haven't been at JFK in 25 years. I have 90 minutes. How far is it between the terminals? I like to walk if I have time. Do I have to again go through security? Anything else?

Sylvia

Its about a 5-10 minute walk from Terminal 9 to 8 at JFK. You'll need to go outside and walk to the left. Once at Terminal 9 you will need to clear security once again. Assuming your inbound flight from SJC is ontime, you should have no problem making the connection to LHR.

Post 9/11, the security lines at JFK are pretty long at all Piers D (Term 9), Piers A&B (Term 8). Depending on the time of day, the lines will stretch and wrap around the inside of the terminal. Some of the times I've been there, they did not go by your position in line; they would only let you in according to your boarding time. In fact, this has been the norm for me during the past 3 weeks and I've been checking in at JFK 2 hrs prior to departure.

AA has done a horrible job in keeping order for security at JFK. They do not have any mazes to keep the queues in order. It just gets to a mob scene when they go by departure time.

Some of the LHR flights in the evening actually do leave from Terminal 9 now, so you might luck out and be able to stay in the same terminal.

I suppose its "hit or miss" as I've traveled from terminal 8 twice since 9/11 and have never had a wait at security of more than 10 minutes. Both experiences occured at about 4pm on a Friday.

i agree that security lines at terminals 8 & 9 are a nightmare. the day before thanksgiving, i arrived more than two hours before my 8:30 AM departure on flight 142 to LHR.

the line at terminal 8 stretched from the security checkpoint, past ticketing, past the admiral's club entrance and even past the additional secure ticketing/check-in areas at the far end of the terminal. the admiral's club reception folks estimated the line at 1 hour.

it was actually more than two hours, with no PA announcements or guidance given to the people waiting in line.

in fact, at 8:15, with my flight only fifteen minutes away, i watched in horror as AA personnel allowed about sixteen people to cut the line, explaining "these people have 8:30 flights."

uh, HELLO?

"i have an 8:30 flight, too. and i got here on time. why should the people who arrived an hour or more AFTER me be ushered through security?"

(cheers and applause from dozens of nearby fellow 8:30 flyers... shrugs from AA uniformed employees)

i got on my cell phone to call AA's platinum desk. the ARU told me it didn't recognize my aadvantage number, so i was transferrred to a "regular" rep.

i explained i was in a security line at JFK and my flight was fifteen minutes away, the crowd wa sgetting unruly, there were no AA people advising us of what to do and it was quite likely that many many people would miss their flights.

she didn't get it... she couldn't understand what the problem was. i asked her to make a note in the PNR that i had called. she put me on hold while she checked with someone... and then i was mysteriously disconnected.

(AA, of course, has all my contact info... but i never heard back from anybody.)

i finally got through security at 8:28 and the flight left at about 8:45. frankly, the least they could have done was announce to the hundreds of people in line that flights were being held to accommodate the throngs at security. (although, i'm sure there were probably people who did miss their flights.)

at JFK terminal 9 today (4 december), there was only about a fifteen minute wait, but the people there have very little idea of how to deal with the public. they bark orders, speak only in security jargon gobbledygook... and yet don't understand why what they say is misinterpreted by the average traveler.

to make matters worse, they require all laptops to be taken out of their briefcases and "placed on the belt." i had three people bark this command to me as i appoached the checkpoint, just in case i didn't see the many posted signs.

so, i did exactly what i was asked. i placed my G4 titanium powerbook on the belt.

it came out the other side and was catapulted down the metal rollers and smashed with some force into the end of the table where the screened luggage gathers.

this is not what i wanted to see... a $3500 piece of delicate electronic equipment smashed against hard luggage and the edge of the table.

i immediately went to pick it up to inspect the damage. at which point i was yelled at by two people... saying i wasn't allowed to touch it because i was contaminated... i had set off the metal detector (apparently from the magnetic stripe on other tickets i had in my jacket).

i explained that the computer was unprotected and may have sufferered damage. i was told i should have put it in a plastic case.

i explained that i didn't work there, i don't know what the procedure is, and that two people who did work there told me to place the computer on the belt. they saw me place the computer on the belt.

shouldn't they have given me a plastic case?

i asked to speak to a supervisor and they said it wasn't necessary. just open the computer and turn it on to make sure it still works. i explained that it may work now, but it might not in the near future... i want to know who i can report this to. i asked to speak to a supervisor... someone in charge. there was none, they said.

(frankly, this, while unlikely, would not surprise me!)

they said just call or write american airlines "complaint department" and, after checking my carry-on, they dismissed me with a wave.

hey, i'm a loyal american customer, a million-miler and AA platinum. i am not an infrequent flyer. admittedly, this was my first time flying with a laptop since 9/11... but did i do anything wrong here?

They do this constantly! Why cant they just look at my laptop while its safe in its nice padded bag?