I took a day trip from SJC to PDX yesterday on AS. I booked the ticket Monday on AA.COM. as an AA code share. I am a long-time PLT, and I used my AA # for this ticket. While I don't fly AS often, I probably make 5 or 6 RT's per year, and at one time I was an MVP Gold.

When I picked up my BP in SJC (AA.com won't issue a BP for a code share flight ), I didn't give it any thought. At the ID check, I found out that I had been SSSS'd - first time in three years for me, including some 1-way WN tix... The screening was quick, polite, and pointless, so I quietly endured. I figured this must be a random selection, since I had paid by CC, RT, FF #, etc. Although the SSSS screening is window dressing, I don't really mind if it IS TRULY RANDOM!

I checked back in in PDX that afternoon, and there it was again. Now I was very annoyed. Fortunately, I had plenty of time to make the flight, and the "normal" lines were ridiculously long, so I figured WTH, this isn't so bad. There was no one in the SSSS line, so I handed over the BP, de-shoed, and de-laptopped. Then the moat dragon told me that I had to wait for the flight crew personnel. I looked behind me, and there were at least 12 crew members. While I waited, each of them expressed regret at the SSSS treatment, and asked me to go ahead. But the dragon was firm in his resolve. Now if I had been in a hurry, this would have been a problem. Some of the crew members were getting secondary screening ( ), so things were moving slowly. Mu annoyance began to take control of my rationality, and I started getting louder about being selected and having to wait. I was about to ask for the screening supervisor, when they suddenly told me to proceed - there were still about a half a dozen crew members behind me.

The rest of the screening was SOP, so I didn't offer any more comments. Why would AS have selected me, and why should I have to wait for SO MANY crew members? Anyone have similar PDX / AS experiences?

First time in three years?! What are you fretting about? If you were harrassed at the checkpoints, then I could understand this post. But, you weren't, were you? This is coming from someone who is SSSSed every possible time at every checkpoint.

I love the part about checking secondary screening for the guy flying the plane. Got to make sure he doesn't smuggle any weapons aboard and take over the plane (:

"World Class Security" Our tax dollars at work. Way to go, feds.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, AS SSSS me every single time I fly with them. It even happens on AA codeshares, in the middle of itineraries where I'm not SSSS'd on the AA metal either side of the AS.

I can only conclude that AS have some kind of a policy of their own, over and above what the feds require.