Don't know when I'll be back again

[cyrano]

Just a quick note, here, as I'm seeing a lot of discussion on my flist about the new security measures at airports.
Airlines !== TSA
In fact, I would say that at base there is an antagonistic relationship between the two, because every new layer of security that the TSA establishes means fewer passengers, crankier passengers, and more difficulty getting to passengers, who then demand lower ticket prices in exchange for their inconvenience.
Yes, the airlines certainly can take steps (ones which cut into their already pretty thin baseline) to accomodate people who have been inconvenienced by the new security measures. But they're not the ones telling you to throw out your water bottle so that a third party can then charge you $5 for a replacement inside security.
(When Andale's or Boudin's sells you an overpriced meal, I as an airline employee do not in fact see any of that profit in my paycheck.)
Airlines already do enough stupid things and make enough arbitrary decisions that we don't need to add this in order to prove that they do stupid or arbitrary things. This has been your pedantic moment for the day.

Comments

[tersa.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the amount of misinformation spewing on my friends list has been incredible, stuff I was able to fact check on TSA's website with a minimum of fuss (and actually learned interesting things...like approved luggage locks!) and debunk.

But maybe I'm just feeling cynical about the whole thing cuz I know too much about how stuff works from you and ambar.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

It doesn't help that (a) things are happening pretty much as quickly as somebody can send an email saying "I've changed my mind and here's the new rule" (b) nobody seems to be 'on the same page', and so a piece of information (or misinformation) gets passed from source to source and mutated and transformed thus producing even more versions of What's Really Going On.
I will also say that there's a certain... attraction to being able to point to somebody you don't like or resent and say "Look at this stupid thing they're doing because they're stupid." Which, if you're naturally predisposed to believe somebody's stupid, you're less likely to fact check.
I'm just glad I'm not trying to fly anywhere until next weekend. By which time I'm hoping things have settled enough that there's a system in place and things are smooth, if still stupid.

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

I think it’s a combination of airline greed and mismanagement, TSA idiocy, and passengers who are tired of being treated like crap by both.

Erik relates superior passenger experiences in foreign airlines, and often frustrations with domestic airlines.

I don’t blame the hard-working airline employees. I place the blame squarely with the airline executives making decisions that make things needlessly hard on both their employees and their customers.

And I find fault with the TSA and our inept government.

All of this, including terrorism, have made things much worse for everyone. 9-11 was just another nail in the coffin of the airline industry, and I believe the latest round of problems began with deregulation under the Reagan Administration.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I don't deny that airline management are generally speaking not doing the job they should. My single point here is that the airlines are not involved in the new 'no liquids' rule, and it's not part of their plan to make passengers spend more money.
And although I've been told that deregulation is the Yellow Brick Road which leads us to the Emerald City of Laissez Faire and the true freedom of the Free Market, I've pretty much seen it use its Midas Touch to turn everything it touches to shit because greedy rapacious bastards use it as a blank check to abuse the system and clamp down the profit vise as hard as they can.

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

The liquids thing is one of the few things I'm not blaming on the industry.

I agree with you about deregulation, and I agree with Erik about the Israeli practice of focusing on the passenger. Do an interview and decide on a case-by-case basis.

[miss-friday.livejournal.com]

By which time I'm hoping things have settled enough that there's a system in place and things are smooth, if still stupid.

I wouldn't count on that. Permanent rules (stupid or no) will come as a result of reverse engineering exactly what was planned. This will involve not-so-legal, and likely time consuming, processes inflicted on the arestees. Plus the rule changes have to percolate through the not-so-great mental processes of the American Public. Given that there appear to be different rules depending on destination, I would anticipate low to mid-level chaos for awhile yet.

[miss-friday.livejournal.com]

While I do not know the figures, and don't have the time to look them up currently, I doubt the El Al security scheme would not work with U.S. I suspect that U.S. carriers simply have too many passengers to make interviews and background checks feasible. It would likely take too many employees to make such a system run smoothly and quickly, even with technological shortcuts. Plus said employees (either government or privately hired) would have to undergo rigorous background checks, and there simply may not be enough people that would be eligible to do the work.

This is a case where ramping up a small model would produce more problems than solution.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Oh and PS:
The handle on the microwave broke off completely this morning and so I tagged our property management guy with an 'Urgent' voice mail. If there's no message on our machine when you get home, can you call the office and ask if he still works there?

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

I hate to say it, but maybe we should start profiling a little. Differentiate between a lawyer from Northern California and a person with no clear purpose from countries that birth these types of acts.

How hard is it to look at background before we issue a visa and/or passport? There's no reason we cannot do simple background checks before the person shows up at the airport.

No tickets sold on demand, (but with an emergency provision.)

Flying is not a right guaranteed by the Constitution.