Urban Airline survival

gadgetgeek · Jan 6, 2010

I know this get beaten to death here, but I'm flying through LAX tomorrow and I hope my kit survives the sticky fingers at the TSA desk. thankfully I'm just in transit, so I don't have to clear customs until YYC, which is home turf, but i don't want the shiny things to go missing. granted there will be more hell to pay if anything happens to my fiance's wedding gown. The days when we could trust other people to take care of our stuff.....

Rupestris · Jan 6, 2010

gadgetgeek said:
... but i don't want the shiny things to go missing. granted there will be more hell to pay if anything happens to my fiance's wedding gown. The days when we could trust other people to take care of our stuff.....

Just remember, no matter how much money an airline makes, how big its board of directors is, or who owns their stock, its still public transportation. Expect no more than you would from a NY subway, a bus in LA or the El in Chicago.

Don't take anything that you can't replace.

If you do have something come up missing because of the baggage gremlins or TSA, just consider it gone for good and replace it.

That said, I have had TSA go through my checked bag and leave their note inside that explains why they searched my stuff. On all occasions my stuff arrived on the other side with nothing missing.

Best of luck,

Chris

Mannlicher · Jan 6, 2010

I have found it more expeditious to mail or UPS my stuff ahead to my destination. If I am staying at a hotel, I'll UPS the things I can't do without a couple of days before I travel.
I of course notify the Hotel where I have my reservations.

When I fly, I have only my carry on stuff.

blake g49 · Jan 6, 2010

Mannlicher said:
I have found it more expeditious to mail or UPS my stuff ahead to my destination. If I am staying at a hotel, I'll UPS the things I can't do without a couple of days before I travel.
I of course notify the Hotel where I have my reservations.

When I fly, I have only my carry on stuff.

That's how I roll too - takes some of the worry out of travelling by air...

blake

iflygreen · Jan 6, 2010

Ship ahead and carry on only. Works well for me.

CWL · Jan 6, 2010

The days when we could trust other people to take care of our stuff.....

When was this? It is now harder for baggage crew to steal because they are being better monitored than any time in the past.

Just flew thru LAX for New Years, aside from massively long lines (Detroit bomber), things went smoothly.

Then again, I fly every month and don't have any problems. I also fly with firearms and don't get hassled.

I have never lost anything flying, but I have lost plenty of things in the mail, FedEx and UPS.

gadgetgeek · Jan 9, 2010

all my stuff got though fine, got hassled most by the canadian border patrol making sure my knives were all legal, although I was convincing enough that they didn't bother to look.
double screened at brisbane, folks were pro, but annoyed due to impossible expectations from management. saw some pretty good professionalism by the US customs and boarder, but some horrible behavior (yelling/ swearing) by a TSA. win some. loose some, traveling with by fiance I'm sure helped. peace and happiness my friends

Bumppo · Jan 9, 2010

Hide the knives in plain sight. I put my knives in a clear box with minimal padding so they don't rattle around, and tape an inventory list to the inside of the lid. If the knives don't fit, I have a canvas bag marked "Tools, sharp and points" with an inventory tag marked on it, and one inside as well. I learned this because I used to just pack them wrapped in a cloth, and two knives "mysteriously disappeared". By the way, they don't check as often, but Buses have a "No Knives, checked or otherwise." policy. In fact, they have an extensive list of do not bring aboards.