Today I flew from New Delhi to Mumbai (DEL-BOM) in the morning and returned in the evening. Both flights were on Jet Airways, a fantastic Indian domestic carrier. One direction was on a 737-400; the other a 737-900. I was in business class both directions.

One of the best parts of this trip was airport security. First, let's note that India faces a very real terrorist threat certainly exceeding that facing the U.S. Anyone who follows Indian history knows this. Yet airport security is actually reasonable!

Sure, they have walk-through metal detectors, but they aren't set so high that your tooth fillings set them off. They never ask anyone to remove their shoes. They x-ray carry-on bags without stopping the belt constantly and having groups of employees sit staring at the image forever.

But here's the best part: Nobody asked to see my ID even once all day!!! That's right! I walked into the airport with my ticket and handed it along with my passport to the ticket agent, who passed back the passport unopened. She gave me my boarding passes (both directions). The security people wanted to see -- and stamp -- the boarding pass but had no interest in my ID. The gate agent wanted to see the stamped boarding pass, but again never asked to see ID.

What a great country!!! The U.S. could really learn something from India.

Bruce