traveling from Washington Dulles to San Francisco - no issues

[maverick]

hi folks,

i just boarded virgin america flight 67 going to san francisco, and everything from check in to boarding proceeded as usual.

i boarded with my western flyer, imago and passport pouch. i saw that even small roll aboard suitcases had to be gate checked. i checked in a larger suitcase (26" or 28" - too big to carry on board). i hope it arrives

i'm flying from san francisco to seattle tomorrow - will let you know how that goes.

[maverick]

hi folks,

i just boarded virgin america flight 740 to seattle with my western flyer and imago - everything from checkin all the way to boarding proceeded as usual.

[maverick]

pictured here is a crimson western flyer and a 1050d ballistic nylon imago in black/wasabi in the overhead compartment of an airbus a319.

posted from approximately 30,000 feet up in the air...

[Carolina]

I noticed the pattern of rolling bags being pulled out to be checked by airline personnel even before this Dec 25 mess. I am glad you made it on board with your Western Flyer. Do you think you could have made it on board with a Tristar??

[maverick]

I noticed the pattern of rolling bags being pulled out to be checked by airline personnel even before this Dec 25 mess. I am glad you made it on board with your Western Flyer. Do you think you could have made it on board with a Tristar??

hi carolina,

i don't think they would have said anything about the tri-star or aeronaut.

by the way, i just arrived on a usairways flight from seattle to charlotte, and the overhead compartments were packed, mainly with roll aboard suitcases.

they encouraged travelers to use the space underneath the seat in front of them when possible to avoid having to have bags checked at the gate, but so many people had roll aboards.

i got delayed in security because they were concerned about what the cylindrical object was in my western flyer - it was a flashlight. but because they couldn't figure out what it was, and until they identified that what they were seeing in the x-ray was a flashlight, they went through my bag and pulled stuff out a few things at a time. it was no big deal - i understand they have to do what they have to do. the lady helping me was super nice and that always makes the process easier. actually, everyone i came across in seattle was super nice!

i really wish i could have stayed longer - i'm looking forward to going out to seattle again, hopefully very soon!

[KarlJ]

Maverick,

Nice is good. As Major Frank Burns said in an episode of "M*A*S*H"...
"It's nice to be nice, to the nice!"

A copy of questions please...

At the point where the screener observing the X-ray display could not identify the object (flashlight), was there a consult with another person to observe item on the screen? What I want to ascertain is if the scanner operator acted alone in determining an additional search of the bag was required, or if there was a second person who may have been able to make a determination from the screen?

When they went through your bag, did they ask you what the object was? Or did they conclude of their own examination all was well?

Lastly, could you by any chance see the monitor showing the X-rayed contents of your bag?

I'm just applying your experience to some of my own casual observances.

[maverick]

hi karl!

Maverick,

Nice is good. As Major Frank Burns said in an episode of "M*A*S*H"...
"It's nice to be nice, to the nice!"

A copy of questions please...

At the point where the screener observing the X-ray display could not identify the object (flashlight), was there a consult with another person to observe item on the screen? What I want to ascertain is if the scanner operator acted alone in determining an additional search of the bag was required, or if there was a second person who may have been able to make a determination from the screen?

the screener wasn't sure what he was looking at, and from where i was standing, it seemed like he was flipping through different layers of imagery trying to understand what it was. he did call a couple of people to look and it, and they weren't sure what they were looking at.

i actually thought the concern was over the tripod i was carrying. i had a gitzo mountaineer carbon fiber tripod and a video fluid tripod head (made out of metal). the handle of the tripod head was separated for ease of packing. the video tripod head is a big hunk of heavy metal you could do some serious damage with it. and the handle looks like in mini-club. so i thought they were concerned about that, and i heard comments from the screeners about photographic equipment. i also had two cameras in there. yes, the western flyer held all of that, my 13" macbook, and a bunch of adapters / cables / etc.

When they went through your bag, did they ask you what the object was? Or did they conclude of their own examination all was well?

they asked me if i had any pens, i said i had two. they asked if i had something a certain size, and i wasn't sure what they were referring to. the flashlight was in a pen pocket next to the ball point pen and permanent marker i had. when they asked about the pens, they pulled those out but not the flashlight and ran it again. eventually, we figured out it was the flashlight.

Lastly, could you by any chance see the monitor showing the X-rayed contents of your bag?

I'm just applying your experience to some of my own casual observances.

i could see the monitor from an angle, so i couldn't really see what they were looking at. but i knew collectively what they were looking at because i knew what i had in my bag.

oh, they also ran one of those swabs over the western flyer to check for explosives and it came back negative.

[maverick]

by the way, the final leg of my trip was from charlotte back to washington dulles. we flew a crj that had overhead compartments took my western flyer very nicely.

i was seated pretty far back (row 19), so most of the people had deplaned when i got off the plane. and it was interesting to see the long line up of people on either side of the jetway, extending about half the length of the jetway, waiting for their roll aboards that they checked plane side. hopefully they didn't have to wait long for their bags...

[backpack]

What about a Brain Bag/Large Cafe Bag pair?