When I was on my travels last week, I got annoyed by a check-in woman. I tried to check my bags through an IOM-LGW flight, onto my connecting flight out of LHR. Both flights were BA. I dimly remember doing this about 4 years ago (not from the IOM though) and assumed it would be OK.
Well, they refused. Stonewalled me. When I asked, in an exasperated tone, “why?” I was just told it was a security precaution since 11/9.
WHAT IS THE LOGIC BEHIND THIS?
Is it simply that they sacked the van driver to save a bit of money and thought that 11/9 was a convenient excuse?
Sorry for ranting – if I am inconvenienced by what appears an illogical policy I tend to get annoyed!
By: mongu - 15th July 2002 at 13:51
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
Basically, airlines should employ more accountants!
Our entire professional grounding is to check things (usually by trsting the controls), question things and be sceptical. Okay, ignore Andersen’s for the momenr…the point still applies.
By: greekdude1 - 15th July 2002 at 03:01
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
That’s fair enough, Mongu. I agree that those all are good measures, and especially agree that there needs to be more consistency worldwide. The system will never be foolproof, but it has be good enough to where it will scare off most would-be attacks, and stop the rest of the few.
GD1
By: mongu - 14th July 2002 at 20:31
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
El Al is quite extreme. I wouldn’t advocate following their approach at all.
What annoys me is inconsistency and hypocrisy. The plastic/metal cuttlery is a case in point. They get unhappy if you try and bring a pair of nail clippers on board, then go and give you a metal knife or fork. Like I said, inconsistent.
Basically, how about the following:
1. Consistent policies
2. Often, the stewardess opens the cockpit door inflight for whatever reason. I thought this was supposed to have stopped?
3. More X-raying of hold baggage. I used to think this happened automatically, but twice in the last year I have been told by the check-in people to take my luggage across the hall to a security chap, who placed it in an X-ray machine and then put it into the baggage system after he’d checked it. I hardly ever see this happen, though. It must only be a random 0.5% of passengers or similar – how about 2 or 3% at random, instead?
4. Install secondary x-rays/arches at the gate (in case you could get hold of something in the departure lounge)
5. Widen the occurence of having your pic taken when you go into the departure lounge (and a barcode stuck to your boarding pass). I’ve only ever seen this in the UK (well, at MAN, LHR and LGW). This helps track passengers through the airport and also decreases the possibility of unaccompanies bags being flown, through error etc..
6. An audit that security policies are being adhered to as part of an annual safety and security report to the CAA, FAA or whoever.
7. CCTV in the cabin.
8. CONSISTENCY
9. I am not really an airline expert (just a hobby) but hopefully I’m an intelligent commerical person. The real experts should be consulted by all and every airlines. I know this happens, but the usual impression I get is that they advise the board, maybe hold a few training sessions…they don’t check for consistency and a security-focused mind set amongst ordinary staff.
By: greekdude1 - 14th July 2002 at 08:57
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
Even on business class on both UA and NZ recently, I’ve had plastic knives, but metal forks. Do you think that every airline needs to do what El Al does, Mongu? If not that extreme, what would you propose they do in order bring the security up to par?
GD1
By: mongu - 11th July 2002 at 17:14
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
They still take lots of chances Kabir:
Again, using my trip last week as an example:
On a LHR-SIN sector, we had plastic cuttlery as I would expect.
On SIN-MEL, we had real metal cuttlery.
I’ve been on 3 or 4 flights where this has been the case (BA, Qantas, SAA).
I don’t think security is very good at all – which is depressing, when they use the “security” tag to justify anything and everything.
By: KabirT - 11th July 2002 at 09:53
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
they are just not taking any chances……thats all.
By: mongu - 10th July 2002 at 21:23
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
Yes, but the point is that some of these measures have nothing to do with security.
By: KabirT - 10th July 2002 at 11:44
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
Lets put it this way….would you like to be slammed into a building or blow up mid-air?? I think these security measures are necessery, just for one reason….safety. As the number of passengers travelling by air increase day by day these measures are absolutely necessery.
By: greekdude1 - 10th July 2002 at 10:23
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
I guess you boys in Europe never could do that anyway, eh? The only terminal at LAX where you couldn’t do that from day 1 was the Bradley terminal. As a result, Bradley has all their shops/bars/restaurants prior to the security checkpoints. Basically nowadays, if I’m dropping off somebody that I’m going to stay with till they board, and we have time to spare, we take the LAX shuttle over to Bradley, goof around over there, then take the shuttle back to the terminal they are departing from. That’s the only option other than sitting in a seat doing nothing for the time being.
GD1
By: Bhoy - 10th July 2002 at 10:13
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
but you could only ever do that in the States. It does make sense to have less members of the public milling about, if you’re trying to keep an eye on people acting suspiciously.
By: greekdude1 - 10th July 2002 at 10:04
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
There are many aspects of aviation that we could blame those bastards that were/are the masterminds of September 11th, on. Unfortunately, what’s done and done, and we just have to make the most of what there is left. The part I hate the most is not being able to go past security checkpoints as a non-passenger when I’m picking up or dropping off somebody. That has to be the worst. LAX did all this reinnovating a few years back, opening up shops/bars inside the terminals, now only ticketed passengers can use those facilities. That’s horrible.
GD1
By: Rabie - 10th July 2002 at 08:45
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
the thing with jo moore was that she is right. the gov bankrupted (or did they }>) railtrack soon after,and dumped laods of bad things o the puiblic soon after. if you were a government offical you too would do that. anyone who has watched the west wing will know that they put stories they want no one to know about in the news on fridays – this is just the same.
cynical rabie :9
By: mongu - 9th July 2002 at 21:18
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
In the UK, an assistant to the Transport Secretary (Jo Moore) was sacked. She sent a memo round, suggesting that the aftermath of 11/9 would be a good opportunity to release bad figures to the press, because nobody would notice them.
That’s minor, compared to what the airlines are doing. The annoying thing is that the majority of airline employees, and the travelling public, lack the intellect and the wit to realise this. A reason for further airline deregulation I think – encourage more competition.
By: keltic - 9th July 2002 at 20:01
RE: Lets blame 11/9 for everyt
A perfect excuse to make airlines to rise the price of tickets. In Spain we have a new tax, charged by the goverment called “security tax” and no substancial improvement or changes in Spanish airports. And higher fares by airlines, which also charge more for security reasons and no changes in bord safety. Railways are thinking about a security tax…shame on them all.
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July 9, 2002 at 5:43 pm