Paatrick

1. Do you feel safe flying.

2. What improvements have Airline Industries done that you dont like, and what have they that you do like.

Please leave your name if you anwser these, because i may quote you. Thank you.
Patrick

UALOneKPlus

1. Yes

2. The airline industry have done nothing. The government has forced bureaucracy, invasion of privacy, inconsistent security procedures, and paranoia into the air travel industry.

Signed,
Your Average American

Spiff

1. Yes. Always have; probably always will.

2. I would call them changes, not necessarily improvements. Please do a search. Most of us don't want to retype 2+ years worth of comments.

- Another Average American Flyer

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

Pointfreak!

1. Yes

2. They have made it harder for the average american to navigate the process, while doing nothing to prevent terrorists from doing the same. They beefed up the cockpit doors & changed their "do what ever a hi-jacker asks" policy. Thats good. They replaced all metal butter knifes from flights, but left the metal forks. Thats stupid. Which would you rather stab in someones eye if you were a terrorist? I could grab a wine bottle, smash the end off and have a fine weapon if I wanted...but thank God we dont have dull butter knives anymore!

The TSA leaves much to be desired. They hired my nephew as a screener in Seattle and although I love the boy, he dropped of out school at 16 and has a substance abuse problem. If they cant screen the screeners, how can they screen the public?

>>Please leave your name if you anwser these, because i may quote you.<<

You first. Whats you full name, and who are you writing for?

Paatrick

My name is Patrick Donovan
I attend Grayslake Community High School.
Our website is www.d127.ord Im writing for my Journalism Class The paper My go in The Rampage our high school paper,
im sorry if i appear suspisious.
Patrick

UALOneKPlus

I think the url is www.d127.org

I prefer to remain unnamed because I don't want to end up on a "no-fly list" for my views. It's scary how draconian homeland security can be.

studentff

1) Yes. But I also would have felt safe flying on 9/12/2001. As soon as the pax took over UA flight 93, the serious threat from 9/11-style attacks was over. And I accept that nothing can ever totally eliminate the risk of attacks. I don't feel the risk today is any higher or lower than it was on 9/10/2001.

I'll assume your question about "airlines" includes govt/TSA actions.

2)

Don't like: pointy object search (confiscation/banning of my previously-allowed non-threatening pocket knife which directly affects me each time I fly). Shoe fetish of screeners (i.e., must take shoes off each time I fly). Metal detectors set so high that a dime sets them off (needed because they're trying to catch non-threatening objects like above. Detecting actual threats (guns) doesn't require such sensitive settings.) Excessive repetitive ID checks which do nothing for security and ID-checkers who reject my INSPASS because they can't find an exipiration date (my identity doesn't expire, so why must my ID card?). Pointless secondary screening, especially of non-threatening grandmothers, WWII vets, etc. Fear of suddenly showing up on no-fly list and not being able to get off. Privacy invading data-mining programs that threaten innocent passengers and do little/nothing to catch actual terrorists. Inability to checkin at the gate which was my mode of operation for years. Unpredictablity of and size of screening lines to enforce above policies which do little for security. Air marshalls who take revenue 1st-class seats from airlines (should be in coach) and hold innocent pax at gunpoint when there has been no real disturbance. Fear of delays/detention due to random evacuation of terminals when a non-threatening object is found in a terminal or a screener falls asleep at the switch.

Like: Reinforced cockpit doors. Enforcement of 1-carry-on policy which prevents pax from bringing 2-3 giant rollaboards. Prevention of non-pax from going to the gate, which reduces screening lines slightly and makes it to where I can get off a plane without pushing through some crying/screaming/hugging family which is completely oblivious to the fact that some of us are in a hurry to get off the plane and make a connection.

I prefer not to give my name; my handle "studentff" is plenty of identification. I suspect many on the board feel the same way. If you need to cite demographic info for me, I'm a mid-20s Ph.D. student in computer engineering who flys enough to be a premier executive on UA on an even mix of business and leisure trips, mostly domestically but some internationally


[This message has been edited by studentff (edited Feb 02, 2004).]

sowalsky

I'd like to recommend to you, Patrick, that in addition to looking at the American airline industry at its failings, look at foreign carrier/governments and how their security, whether it is less or more intrusive or patterned differently, is more effective than the American monster that we see at airports today.

Or, the evolution of American airport "security" for that matter.

tsadude

Patrick, another place to ask these questions would be at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/supervision_tsa
There are some that who will actually give their opinions and names to you.