Nothing at all to do w/ TSA but still just another hassle in the 'security apparatus'.

The elite line at terminal E in PHL yesterday was a fiasco! First off, the were very diligent in not allowing line jumpers in. That was a first. As I tried to enter the area I was stopped by a contractor a good 20 feet from the portal into the cattle pen. She asked if she could help me. I stood there with my boarding pass proffered and she just stared at me. Again she asked if she could help me and I literally had to put my BP into her nose before she realized I was handing it to her. She looks at it and tells me I can't enter the line as it is for elites only. When I told her it was an F ticket she points to the BP and says it doesn't say 'first' on here (she pointed to the right side of the DL BP, OLCI version where it indeed makes no mention of class.) I then pointed to her the left side of the BP where it was clearly printed:

CLASS
R
FIRST

I pointed to 'first' and she said, nope, point to 'R' and said that 'isn't F'.

Good grief. I just walked past her into the cattle pen and she's yelling at me that I entered w/out permission. Some other dude, hearing the commotion, comes over and the idiot starts yapping, he looks at the BP and gives her a very polite explanation as to how to read a BP.

Just another day of travel.

Wife and MiL were with me and they couldn't believe it (casual travelers). hey, this is my world I tell them, this is what I have to deal with on a sometimes daily basis. Now you know why I sometimes come home cranky.

Consider yourself lucky as the airport Philly cops often beat up the airport customers for minor reasons. You can easily identify the cops as they dress in blue, ride dirty grubby white electric carts and usually weigh more than 250 lbs.

MisterNice