<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SRQ Guy:
They check ID in an attempt to discourage us from giving or selling our tickets to someone else.</font>
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!! Security reasons merely provide a convenient facade to hide behind.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by CelticFlyer:
For flights requiring passports Delta reps seem to actually check them (and scan them to provide early capture)</font>
That's different. Yes, the airlines really do check passports when they are required, because authorities in the destination country can fine the airlines for knowingly transporting a passenger without valid travel documents.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by CelticFlyer:
but for flights requiring "Federal ID" I generally show them one of any number of european IDs none of which have ever been challenged and none of which is a national "state" ID. They seem to care only about name and picture which smells like a revenue issue....</font>
Yep. Name and picture is about all they can care about, for practical reasons. A driver's license seems to be the most popular form of identification for Americans who aren't traveling with passports. That's 50 different forms of ID right there, each one equally valid. Do you really think your average counter agent in Biloxi, MS can spot a fake Wyoming driver's license when he/she sees one? That's not even to mention the other forms of identification one might use... ID-checking in the name of security is a charade. Remember, sale of unused tickets used to be big business.
