US's Parker: Expect TSA to Become Carry-On Police
Aug 25, 2011, 4:56 am
#76
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There are two "barriers" to boarding a commercial aircraft: 1) security checkpoint; and 2) gate. #2 is far preferable place and allows flexibility but carriers can't/won't enforce. That leaves #1 which is not preferable for a broad variety of reasons, but can be accomplished.
The only thing the TSA is capable of catching is a cold, however, they need multiple "training" sessions to do even that right.
Aug 25, 2011, 9:36 am
#77
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All the airlines listed in my earlier post defined maximum carry-on bag size in centimeters as well as in inches, but for the sake of simplicity I only typed the non-metric measurements in that post.
Aug 25, 2011, 4:52 pm
#80
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Aug 26, 2011, 1:41 pm
#81
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An incident with a bag-inspecting CATSA screener at YQB last year belatedly came to mind.
We were boarding a UX flight to ORD for which our reasonably-sized roll-aboards would be gate-checked anyway.
No dice. The screener who was checking BPs and admitting pax into the security area made us use the sizer and they wouldn't fit. Despite my explaining the gate-check aspect to him, he required us to return to the front counter and check them.
We haven't experienced similar problems flying out of YVR or YEG so I guess it's a Quebec thing (and I suspected the smallish-looking sizer was a French import 
) but this CATSA screener was definitely acting as the Carry-On Gendarme.
We were boarding a UX flight to ORD for which our reasonably-sized roll-aboards would be gate-checked anyway.
No dice. The screener who was checking BPs and admitting pax into the security area made us use the sizer and they wouldn't fit. Despite my explaining the gate-check aspect to him, he required us to return to the front counter and check them.
We haven't experienced similar problems flying out of YVR or YEG so I guess it's a Quebec thing (and I suspected the smallish-looking sizer was a French import ) but this CATSA screener was definitely acting as the Carry-On Gendarme.
1.LOST Bags @:-) 2.CARRY-ON BAGS!
Sep 2, 2011, 11:09 pm
#83
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 79
TSOs get hired as long as they can maintain a body temperature somewhere in the 90's. Why would anyone expect them to know the allowable bag sizes for every class on every aircraft on every airline on any specific day? I wouldn't expect an old-school travel agent to know that without having to look it up on a chart - so why should we slow down the line waiting for a two striper to come over and do the reading?
Last edited by scoow; Sep 4, 2011 at 12:02 am Reason: unnecessary
Sep 3, 2011, 6:37 am
#84
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TSA is already a carry-on police of some sort, but there is the practical matter of the TSA's practical incapability to do more than it is already doing in this regard.
Consider the fact that not all airlines have the same carry-on policies, and also consider that not all passengers are subject to the same carry-on policy as all other passengers on a given airline. Combine that together and the TSA would have to not only be trained by each of the airlines about the policies generally applicable to most passengers but they would also have to be trained about the differences applicable to different passengers for the same and/or different airlines.
Given that the TSA has enough trouble performing perfectly even with regard to some of the policies/practices created by the TSA itself, complicating the TSA's job with airline check-in and/or gate-agent training and training updates with regard to carry-on baggage is just further invitation for failure. When even check-in and/or gate-agents for the airline aren't consistent, why would the TSA be any better than the airline employees in performing such task? I see nothing to suggest that the TSA would do this job any better, although perhaps the government (in the form of the TSA) is more intimidating to passengers at airports than airline employees. Is that what this is about? Then no thank you.
Consider the fact that not all airlines have the same carry-on policies, and also consider that not all passengers are subject to the same carry-on policy as all other passengers on a given airline. Combine that together and the TSA would have to not only be trained by each of the airlines about the policies generally applicable to most passengers but they would also have to be trained about the differences applicable to different passengers for the same and/or different airlines.
Given that the TSA has enough trouble performing perfectly even with regard to some of the policies/practices created by the TSA itself, complicating the TSA's job with airline check-in and/or gate-agent training and training updates with regard to carry-on baggage is just further invitation for failure. When even check-in and/or gate-agents for the airline aren't consistent, why would the TSA be any better than the airline employees in performing such task? I see nothing to suggest that the TSA would do this job any better, although perhaps the government (in the form of the TSA) is more intimidating to passengers at airports than airline employees. Is that what this is about? Then no thank you.
Sep 3, 2011, 9:33 am
#85
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The TSA has been the carry on police at DFW for a very long time. Issues are: too many bags (purses included), too large bags and too many items in general.
We are used to it.
We are used to it.
Oct 3, 2011, 10:36 am
#86
Join Date: Nov 2006
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Turning the person around won't be a problem -- you escort the person to the crew/handicap line and tell them to exit through that. The problem will be missed flights, whether the TSA should give them a pass to cut to the front of the line after checking the items, etc.
Oct 3, 2011, 10:49 am
#87
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Turning the person around won't be a problem -- you escort the person to the crew/handicap line and tell them to exit through that. The problem will be missed flights, whether the TSA should give them a pass to cut to the front of the line after checking the items, etc.
Oct 3, 2011, 5:09 pm
#88
Join Date: Nov 2008
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No passes. The way to obtain compliance for something as simple as carry on restrictions is to make it a PITA. You show up with non-compliant carryons, you get kicked out of line, sent back to the counter and then to the back of the checkpoint line. Once the word gets out that this is enforced, it will stop.
Oct 3, 2011, 7:52 pm
#89
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Which is precisely why the airlines would love to have TSA police this rather than do it themselves. Let TSA be the PITA, and let the airlines come across as angelic beings ready to cater to every passenger's need --- even though it's the airlines' rules that would be enforced by TSA.
Oct 3, 2011, 8:15 pm
#90
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 3,657
First of all, it's outside of TSA's charter. TSA is charged with securing transportation systems, not dealing with number, size, and weight restrictions on bags. And since TSA has to screen both checked and unchecked bags, it really shouldn't matter to TSA how many checked bags happen.
So the solution is to have someone else enforce the rules? Balderdash. If the airline won't enforce their own rules, the airline should change the rules into a form they are willing to enforce.
