Bruce,

I've never used EWR Terminal A (that I recall, at least). However, your experience at EWR A sounds similiar to my experiences at EWR B. EWR C is another world.

My experiences in EWR Terminal B for domestic and international flights (NW, VS, MH, KL, etc) have been good and consistent; no shoe removal - walk though, no beep, no problems, all of the time.

My experiences in EWR Terminal C (CO & XJ) is where I've experienced complete inconsistency and occassional hassle. While C is the largest of the terminals and the busiest, it's amazing how the experience can differ once you go an AirTrain stop over.

The checkpoints in C are often quite hectic, while it's typically much more peaceful over in B - should that make a difference.

Best,

SDF_Traveler