01-15-2010, 03:33 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 411
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I hear ya, Jason. I flew transborder from Toronto to Chicago on 4 Jan. No info on what I could or could not bring. I learned most of of the rules at the time from Twitter and FlyerTalk.com. FT really is the go-to source for all travel info, right from the front lines.
I arrived at YYZ 3.5 hours before my flight. Air Canada was recommending we be there 3 hours before. I had checked in online the night before. Packed with only a small laptop bag. But then the whammies started:
- Air Canada was forbidding people to check in until 1.75 hours before their flight. Why tell us to be there 3 hours before?
- I had already checked in, but the ticket agent refused to take my bag until 1.5 hours before the flight.
- The multi million dollar YYZ airport was not designed to have thousands of people waiting to check in. There are only a handful of seats prior to ticketing. Elderly people, who can't sit on the ground, were pacing.
- I decided to be assertive (a dangerous thing while flying) and kept politely requesting that my bag be checked. Eventually, I found a ticketing agent to print a bag tag for me.
- Over at the entrance to US Customs, an AIR CANADA rep was keeping people from entering the customs hall. He was calling flights individually. By yelling out flight numbers. No PA, no horn. So hundreds of people were gathered around, straining to hear. I couldn't hear.
- Eventually I surfed in behind a confused large group of people who were keeping the AC guy busy with their boarding passes.
- I went up the to NEXUS machines and cleared customs, only to be given the scarlet letter A for Agricultural check. I'm glad that US customs is keeping those Washington apples out of the US. Way to spend resources at a high alert time. I had no fruit or soil on me, so they let me go.
- I passed ag inspection, but ticked off the Customs chick because I refused to give an exact number to her on the number of days I've been in the US in the last 12 months. I don't have that number. I don't know that number. I gave her a range and she wanted a number. Just kept refusing. Giving a wrong answer is much worse than saying "I don't know". Wrong is lying to Customs people.
- Made it to the AC lounge, which was EMPTY. Agent there tells me I can't enter until 1 hours before my flight, but that I need to be at the gate 1 hour before my flight to line up for the pat down search. Sad puppy dog eyes sway him and he lets me in any way.
- After coffee and some fruit, I make my way to the gate. Pat down search was....extensive. The most invasive I've ever had, even at DCA right after 9.11. Even more extensive that LHR after visiting the Middle East. They were looking for crotch bombs with both hands. It was not a nice thing.
- After a gate change and a 2 hour delay, we took off. Everything after that was normal. I had an annoying seat mate, but there were no special rules. No sitting during the last hour (entire flight), we could use any carry ons we wanted to, and any gadget. IFE system was working. I watched The Informant.
- Return flight (this was from New York), was entirely normal. LGA is terrible, but we got home.
What I've figured out: Terrorist won't try this again on an inbound flight, but will now switch to blowing up outbound or domestic flights where there is no extra scrutiny. We haven't solved the problem; we've just moved it. |
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