It is just to much hassle to fly right now
 

Lines, lines, lines. That is all I saw for as far as the eye could see at the LAX airport when I checked in for my flight today. The lines ended up at ticket counters greatly understaffed. The agents, bless their hearts, were trying to get people through the lines but with most counters closed (due to a shortage of staff), it just was an impossible situation. The line for security screening were even worse. <BR> <BR>After two hours in a line that barely moved I called it quits and decided to drive tomorrow to Phoenix, from LA, instead. Traveling by plane is just to much hassle right now. <BR> <BR>Have you experienced the same thing?

I think only the people that really have to will travel by air. If the lines take four hours, I will just drive or not go at all. So no money will be spent in the place I was planning on going.

Craig-What the hell do you want?? A pity party or something??? In case you haven't heard terrorists hijacked 4 planes and rammed them into buildings. What's a little inconvenience now?? IMO, you are a typical self-centered yuppie! QUIT YOUR DAMN WHINING!!! No one gives a damn about you and your petty inconveniences!!!!

WeE flew out of Midway in Chicago to Orlando andn back last week. We didn't have that problem at all. Yes, security is tighter and they asked us to arrive 3 hours early, but there were fewer people flying so no long lines and we whipped right through. People NEED to get back into the air. Just like Bush said, we shouldn't continue an irrational fear. It worked once for the terrorists because of the surprise factor, they no longer have that. Further more, it is important to put money into the economy right now and help the airlines get through this financial crisis.

Craig makes a valid point, which is that people will vote with their feet if we can't come up with a workable system. Standing in lines is not what will make travelers safe. While some inconvenience is to be expected over the near-term and we're all going to have to tolerate that, the future of air travel will be very grim indeed if scenes like he describes are allowed to become the norm.

I traveled twice last week and the only real difference I saw was the lines at the gate were longer because folks were getting to the gate prior to the one hour before checkin and the agents weren't checking in yet. As far as the ticket counters and security I did not experience much difference. Of course, we traveled Southwest Airlines and we did notice the Continental lines a bit longer. It was encouraging to have about 80 people on each flight!

LAX may be crowded but other airports are not OR they are more efficient!

I flew last week and earlier this week - SEA and ORD and MKE airports. No long lines, no hassle. I found it easier than before actually. I also arrived 1.5 - 2 hours ahead of my scheduled flight.

Is it just me, or I am the only one who is taking absolutely no comfort in the supposed security solutions for the airlines? What exactly is it about armed marshals, potentially armed pilots and a new executive order that all kinds of people can now direct the military to shoot down a civilian aircraft, that is supposed to make me feel safe? All I see is the potential to be shot with a stray bullet, crash and burn when pilots and hijackers are struggling for the pilot's gun, or crash and burn when the Air Force fires a missile into my plane. Wow! Now that's comforting! <BR> <BR>They still want to ignore the obvious -- keep the hijackers from boarding the plane in the first place -- because that will increase airline and airport security labor costs. Government has one role, to protect the people, and this government is failing miserably.

To those people that got through the airport without much of a wait- great, it may not be like that next time as more people start flying. <BR> <BR>To those posters that believe that long lines mean safety- shame on you. What the long lines mean to me and many other business travelers is that the airlines fired (laid off) to many check in and gate agents and there are not enough efficent lines to handle the increased number of flyers. <BR> <BR>Our President asked us to start flying again, but if the airlines take so long to check people in for the flight that it becomes easier to drive the 500 miles, people will drive. Time is money. Especially for business travelers. <BR> <BR>Airport check in can be both efficent and safe. Check people and bags carefully but open more lines!

NoMore, <BR> <BR>No it is not just you. I am simply amazed that GWB et al want us to believe it is safe to fly just because there is now a "plan" in place for future security upgrades. Duh........ <BR> <BR>In my business, which is highly regulated, we are not allowed to operate until any "plan" which could affect safety of employees or the public has been carefully evaluated, implemented and monitored for effectiveness. All I see here is a desire to get the money flowing again. <BR> <BR>I understand the fragility and interdependency of our economy as well as the next person, but I refuse to change my opinion about the safety of flying on the basis of words and plans. <BR> <BR>Bottom line is that there are still no marshals on the planes, there is no meaningful additonal cockpit security, and the same minimum-wage people as before are still performing the vast majority of check-in security "screening". I'll fly if I absolutely have to, but I won't like it.....

I, too, am amazed that people are willing to hop back on planes just because their President (safe and secure on Air Force One, BTW) says so. <BR> <BR>Nothing of substance has changed. We don't have air marshalls, and Bush is only proposing them for some flights, not all. Cockpit doors are still flimsy. Bomb screening equipment still isn't used at all airports. People can still check bags through from small airports with pitiful security. People can still wheel big suitcases into the cabin, with the potential to conceal all sorts of things like plastic or ceramic knives or plastic explosives. Baggage screeners are still inept. Ground workers don't go through metal detectors to reach the tarmac. And what on earth are National Guardspeople on the ground supposed to do to keep a bomb off of a plane? <BR> <BR>I can't believe how complacent people have become, just three weeks after the attacks. <BR> <BR>I do feel safer in my highrise, though, because I know incoming aircraft will be promptly blasted from the skies. <BR>

If you are still so concerned about airline safety start writing or calling your Congresspeople, Senators, State Attorney Generals, DOT, the White House, Secretary of Transportation, and anyone else connected. Maybe if enough of us complain things will change.

Craig, thanks for the information. I use LAX alot and wondered how it was going. Hope they can become more efficient soon!!

Please explain to me why the traveling public should feel better now that GWB proposes to give the Federal Government responsiblity for air security & safety. Hasn't the FAA (a Gov't. agency) been overseeing this task all along? Aren't they the ones who have handed out all those wrist slaps to low bid security companies found with serious breaches- like fake credentials and no background checks on employees? <BR> <BR>As for all those long lines - how can that make us MORE secure? Seems to me that more seriously overworked, and still under trained employees don't do a better job when faced with hords of exasperated travelers. (Does a never-ending mound of dirty dishes make YOU wash each and every one MORE thoroughly?) We need for the cheap, bottom line airlines to rehire some of the thousands they laid off to work the counters and security check points. With enough personnel, employees have the time to pay MORE attention to each and every potentional passenger. Then I might feel safer. What do you think?

Since you ask, here is what I think: <BR> <BR>A lot of people seem to now be willing to live in a police state since Sept. 11. It is a mistake. Terrorists choose targets of opportunity. If we build a completely seamless, fraud-proof security system related to air travel, they will go take out a parking ramp downtown and cause just as much havoc as they could have with an airplane. <BR> <BR>There is a lot of mis-directed effort. Here's one: a regional airport being required to install an 8-foot high, two foot thick concrete wall because its parking lot is closer than 300 feet from the terminal. Does that really have something to do with aviation security or is it just assuming that AIRPORTS are more important than other public areas where people gather? Think about that one for awhile and you may conclude that it is a tremendous waste of resources that could be used to address our security concerns in a more direct and substantial way. <BR> <BR>Air travel has never been -- and never will be -- 100 percent "safe". It's just a lot safer than many alternatives, (Yes, I mean RIGHT NOW!). Tens of thousands of people will die on the nation's roadways this year and people will continue to get into their cars; many now thinking that it is safer than getting on a plane. Well, it's not. <BR> <BR>We need to do the best we can within REASON, to have a safe system of air travel. We need to understand that until we can read people's minds along with examining their documents and bags, we're never going to be able to completely assure people about their safety in air travel. <BR> <BR>Refusing to travel is anyone's prerogative, but insisting that aircraft be grounded until some unrealistic standard of security is reached would be a monstrous mistake. It would have been just as realistic to move everyone out of San Francisco until we could guarantee there would never be another deadly earthquake. <BR> <BR>In so many aspects of life, people learn to understand comparative risks and live with what remains after we do the best we can. This is another area in which we need to do that. Standing in long lines and confiscating nail clippers from people is NOT the answer to this problem.

Jim, I think you're being a little cavalier. <BR> <BR>Obviously, using an airplane as a missile is really effective at killing people. Bombing a parking garage doesn't even come close. That's why we need to secure our airports. <BR> <BR>I'm sure you lock your door in your home and car and secure other property that is important to you. None of these measures are fool-proof either, and much less is at stake. <BR> <BR>Should flights be grounded tomorrow? No. Should the government put air security as a very high priority and do the obvious as quickly as possible (air marshalls on all flights, reinforce cockpit doors, federalize security to get rid of the low-paid workers of unknown background, etc.)

Hey Craig I'm with you. People like FedUp can shove their comments up their ass! Hey FedUp relax! if you like waiting in lines so long that you will miss your plane "be my guest" Thank god O'Hare now has curbside checkin back cuz there is no way in hell I'm getting up early or getting to the airport 2-3 hours ahead of time, my sleep and time are too precious to me. And by the way I know what happened two weeks ago so none of you have to write back to tell me!!!

I so wish Fodors had a profanity modertor at the very least. People of limited vocabularies such as the poster above are so repulsive. Don't they know that there are much more effective means of dealing with stupidity than through the use of gutter language? <BR> <BR>

I'm willing to take my chances on an airplane. After all, there are risks involved in just about everything - been cut off on the highway by a cell-phone yammering driver recently? However, as a bottom line, I'm not about to spend more time in line than it takes to get to my destination.