So, I missed my connection today because of weather. When I went to the gate, they printed a boarding pass for the next flight. On it said "QUEST." I correctly assumed that means the royal treatment from security. When I arrived at my dearture gate, I asked if I could be screened ahead of time. He said "no" and took my borading pass. After typing away on his keyboard for a few minutes, he printed a new boarding pass without the dreaded word on it.

I didn't know they could do this.

This is pure speculation, but it's possible that you were selected because they put you on the flight as last minute which appears to be one of the criteria. Perhaps the agent saw that you missed a connection and pulled up your original record, verified you were not selected and reprited the boarding pass?

One time I got bumped off a flight and got put on another airline. I, too, got the QUEST on both boarding passes since it was treated as a last-minute buy. When I got to the connecting city, I talked the agent out of it. Once she verified I'd been scanned in SFO, she cleared me off the list.

I didn't realize this. I was on Northwest back in April and they cancelled their flight from MSP to EWR due to bad weather in NJ. We were reaccommodated on CO, but since we "switched" flights, we were "selected" for re-screening. I wouldn't mind, but we specifically boarded early because my 82 year old grandfather can barely walk and because of his Alzheimer's, barely understands what's going on.

Because of their need to rescreen us, our priority boarding was meaningless and my grandfather had to make his way through a huge mass of people. I was livid at the time (still am thinking about it) but if I'm ever in that situation again and see "quest", I'm definitely going to have a little talk with the ticketing agent.

what will that accomplish? the ticketing agent doesn't control this type of stuff. you would be shooting the messenger, no?

I have had the GA bypass the screening selection on the ticket for me as well (on another carrier). I was extremely grateful and hoped that the GA did not get disciplined for this kind, sensible action.

I can't wait for this horse@#$% to stop.

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"Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry

Yeah, I know -- by "a little talk" I didn't mean I was going to go off the wall, I meant, I was going to have the gate agent see what could be done about it.

My problem with all of this "enhanced" security is that it's meaningless -- an 82 year old man who can barely walk is suddenly a security threat? To say nothing of the gate agents who continued boarding the flight while pre-boards were still being rescreened. The worst of it was that there were A LOT of people reaccommodated on this flight so we were in rescreening with something like 60 people. LOTS of fun.

[This message has been edited by dthernandez (edited 10-09-2002).]

When airlines cancel a flight and reaccomodate customers onto another airline, they are supposed to send an "OSI" message to the other carrier advising if the customer is a "selectee" or not.

Rarely do they do this, so I've actually called UA or DL when they cancel a flight and rebook them to NW and ask that they put in an "OSI" (pronounce just the letters, like O.S.I.) stating that the customer is or is not a selectee. Then I can go ahead and "Exempt" the customer (there's an option for customers rebooked from another airline) from the screening process.

Next time you're rebooked, request that the agent doing the rebooking send the message to the other carrier. When you get to the other carrier, mention that there should be a message from the other carrier (too many "other"s!) as to your selectee status.

Customers who are selected at their origination point and making a connection are not necessarily going to have to be rescreened. It's only required to be screened ONCE. If it happens at the connection, then it truly is "random" at that point.

loop hole to the "quest" is to change your seat assignment at an E-ticket machine and have a new boarding pass reissued. I did this last time I had "quest" and the new boarding pass did not have it.

The whole idea of having a "PLEASE SCREEN ME!" code on your boarding pass is ludicrous. That's not likely to result in finding much. It is a very obvious warning to those wanting to do something nefarious that they should switch boarding passes, dump their contraband into the trash/toilet, etc.

You can do that after you've already checked in?

Hopefully you won't have to. I do remember reading on CNN a few weeks ago that they would be discontinuing these "random" gate checks. The agent who checked me last (how do they know when I'm coming from a red eye connection to pick me for a gate check?) told me that they would indeed be discontinuing the practice, but was not sure of the timeline.
Anybody with more insight into this?

No random gate screening departing from LFT yesterday. I don't know is this is standard, as this is the first and hopefully last time I use that airport.