Flew LAX-EWR on Sunday with little trouble.

Car rental shuttle dropped off at the terminal as usual. I showed up 1 1/2 hours before the flight. Had bags, so headed straight to the ticket counter.

#2 in the elite line. It was a good day to be elite ... a colleague who arrived before me was still standing toward the end of a line that stretched outside the terminal. I got her and put her on the FC standby list.

Only the additional sharp objects question (knives, nail clippers, anything in a glass container). Agent apologized for the increased security screening.

Asked at the bottom of the escalator to the gate area for ID/boarding pass. Asked again at the top of same escalator for ID/boarding pass.

Went to PC. (Still 1+ hours to takeoff.) Surprised to see knives -- metal and plastic -- in a tray near the snacks. Just butter knives, but in light of recent events and the screening questions...

After boarding, most of F was still empty. I think only about 9-12 showed on the 767. Coach was over; they moved one from coach up.

Uneventful flight, except for a sudden and sharp bump about 10 minutes before landing.

Saw the smoke rising from tip of Manhattan as we landed. A really depressing sight.

[This message has been edited by rocky (edited 09-17-2001).]