To paraphrase a well-known FT'er on here, "As a rule, I don't make trip reports about the Shuttle, but..."

So, this was my first trip post-9/11. A mid-week to mid-week trip up to SEA to see the GerbilGirl.

10/3 SFO->SEA UA


I got to SFO well in advance of my 13:30 departure to allow for any monstro lines at security or other delays. Got dropped off at the far entrance since the Premier/1st class lobby UA shares with AA in North is almost always closed.
The place was desolate for mid-day on a Wednesday. Huge clumps of people only in places they needed to be in. An refugee camp-sized mob in the normal Economy line. Way bigger than normal, worse than
Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Not a soul in the elite/FC lines.

No problems checking bags, the usual pleasant nattering with the check-in agent, the usual lame security questions.

My heart sunk when I saw the equally monstro ine out in front of Security. It was moving glacially and if I'd had to stand there, I'm sure I would have missed my flight.

On the other side of the escalator, snaking about the aformentioned disused UA counters, was another line, equally huge but moving along quite briskly. I got through in about 10 minutes.

Major thing that ticks me off about the new
procedures:
They seperate you from your laptop specifically and run that seperately through the X-Ray. Lots of scenes of myself and others taking out shiny expensive slabs with even more shiny expensive data on them and sending them alone, unmarked,unwatched through the X-Ray to be simply placed at the end of the belt for anybody wandering by to
just pick up and walk off with. No attempt to control or specifically watch these.

I've done it twice now and believe me, Basilisk(The VAIO) is getting some sort of indelible ID mark placed on it ASAP.

Can we get SOME sort of control over these?
Like the security droid walks it through or tests it themselves or SOMETHING!?!??

ANYTHING would be better than to just let it ride to the end and sit there like somebody elses backpack. Major

The major thing I've noticed as a result of the new procedures is that the airport itself is dead. There are no people milling about, nobody waiting for a standby or incoming pax in the gate area, few if any people in the shops. In short, everything that gave an airport LIFE and made it a socio-cultural nexus as well as just a place to park planes and unload people is gone.

I had Zone 6 for the flight up to SEA and I was surprised to see the area around Gate 70 just COMPLETELY empty, almost to a person as our flight finished boarding.
The RCC on the other hand, both at SFO and SEA, were packed.

Notes on the flight:
Crew was very attentive, esp. for a Shuttle flight. FAs were very pleasant to all pax, going around and greeting them. I saw two of them within a seat or two of my row ask pax
if they could hang their coats for them!
Yes, this was the Sh*ttle, and yes, these people were in seats like 10B and 8F.
Several rounds of drinks, choice of cookies OR the usual snack mix.
The first thought that lept to mind was "These people must be scared to *DEATH* over their jobs."

And you know, it did make somewhat of a cumulative difference. I forget about the enlightened self-interest after a few minutes and just sat back to dig the flight.

10/9 SEA->SFO UA

The trip back this morning had its moments too.

GerbilGirl had to work early that morning, so I was dropped off on her way at the bright and early hour of 08:10 for an 11:00 flight.
I had planned on kicking it in the RCC for the duration, but the agent at check-in noticed my timing and asked me if I wanted to go on the 09:25 instead. I said sure, dropped my two bags with her, collected my BP(22F, I was too asleep to ask for something else)
and head off to the security screening area.

Here I discovered a minor to semi-major bug in security, and quite by accident no less.

The X-ray and metal-detector checkpoint cuts across the width of the hallway that now leads towards the escalators to the N-terminal tram. This serves to screen pax going to D and N. Just beyond the metal-detectors are a line of guards with MD wands.

Immediately after the X-ray machine, there is a sign pointing to a ramp that says "D&N Gates <-". By going up the ramp and then taking an immediate right, it's possible to dodge the wand patrol and head for the escalators. It was early, I saw the sign, and sleepwalked up the ramp, realized my mistake and then went down the short set of stairs beyond the checkpoint and downstairs to the tram.

I don't know how big of a hole this is since you still have to clear X-ray and the walkthrough MDs first, but it seems like if somebody picked their moment right, they might be able to get away with dodging the wands unless they were escorted there from the walkthrough detectors.

The return flight was equally pleasant, even
in the back. Mostly full, but scattered empty middle and window seats here and there. Crew were quite attentive and personable, esp. for the Sh*ttle.
We took an interesting approach into SFO. Instead of coming in overland and making a rather gentle series of turns that has us coming up from the south, well into our final over the San Mateo bridge, we came down the coast, past Point Reyes, over the GGB, City and airport and then basically wheeled a hairpin 180 over the San Mateo while heading for the deck. No channel 9, so I've no idea what was up with that. Very pretty though.

That's pretty much about it, save for the
presence of the National Guard and their M16s, which is one thing to hear about on the news, but another to see up close in person.

JD

Nice report. FWIW, I share your paranoia about the laptop swappage and, consequently, removed the two plastic hinge covers several weeks ago in order to make it more identifiable.

Aren't VAIOs awesome? I just bought one. But the **** thing is so light that I'm terrified, same as you, that someone will just scoop it up before I can do anything about it. I thought I was the only one.....

My laptop was accidentally swapped by another businessperson at GRR last week (he left his Thinkpad and took my Dell by accident while I was being wanded). Fortunately I figured it out and they paged him to come back. But if it had been deliberate theft.... that could have been a problem. The National Guard guys didn't show a bit of interest in the situation; maybe they thought this was a planned hoax so that somebody else could sneak something through!

I make sure and wait until the pax in front of me has gone thru the X-ray before I place my laptop on the belt. That way it's not sitting on the other end getting smashed by other luggage or accidentaly picked up by someone else. I've always done this regardless of change in security procedures.

As for the security check at the D&N gates in SEA it is not an issue. There are 4 national guards personnel standing at the intersection by the stairs. If there is a problem at the machines or after they will catch it. They only wand pax that beep after going thru x-ray. I had no problems even though I had a set of keys in my pocket.

Toadman, nice tip about security, I don't know why I never thought of it...

Thanks
I've enstickered mine in such a way that it's
easily identifiable. Yes, they could pull them off, but not in those 30 seconds or
so that it's most vulnerable.

JD

Ahhh, this must be new then because when I passed through there was 1 guy there, holding up the column right next to the X-Ray machine with nobody past the wand-ers. It shouldn't have been a time-of-day thing 'cause this was early in the morning.

JD

Jet.

Heres a good solution.

Don't bring it!

A two hour flight, forty five minutes of you can't use it.

If your that concerned leave it at home!

Uhuh....right....this is a troll isn't it?

JD