Luggage

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This posting is from: kumiko yvonne watanabe
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Does anyone know what the security luggage check procedures in LV
McCarren airport?

I just travelled to Colorado for Skiing. Seems each airport has its own
rules as far as luggage being checked.

When leaving Hawaii, they check the luggage before you check in (part of
the agricultral check), so you have to leave it unlocked. However you
can give your keys to the check in staff when you check in. They can
then lock your luggage for you and give you back your keys.

I was travelling to Denver via LAX, and they told me that the luggage
won't be examined in LAX because it was en-route to Denver. However,
returning home from Denver, all luggage had to remain unlocked for the
check of the luggage occurs after you check in.

It was recommended to me by travel agents to do the following:

Keep the luggage unlocked, and put a non-lock type strap around it in
case the latches on the suit case opens up in flight.

Also try to pack things in gallon or 2 gallon zip lock freezer bags or
those 'space' vaccum bags. It works well to keep individual things from
flying around, and is clear so whats inside is very visable in case your
luggage is checked. It also eases in repacking your luggage.

Some airports check the luggage via x-ray. If the luggage is packed too
dense, it will be examined by hand.

Don't over stuff your luggage to prevent stuff from falling or exploding
out if the latchs open up in flight or after being checked.

Carry all valuables on with you on the plane... But still don't carry on
things that will be confiscated. Leave those in the luggage and hope it
doesn't get stolen. If things are lost, the airline is responsable for
its contents. (However the $$$ may be limited)

If your luggage has a combination lock (like those found on hard shell
cases) , leave the combination number somewhere near the lock (taped or
etched on the luggage) in the event that the staff checking wont break
the lock to get into your luggage, or if the tumblers move and locks
your luggage before its checked.

Some extra cost may be incurred if the luggage exceeds a certian weight.

Security may/will get worse if war with Iraq begins.

I personally tried the smaller 'space bags' ... the ones that you just
squeeze to let the air out. It doesn't last very long before the valve
no longer works. Zip-locks work just as well, and is alot cheaper.

Are there any other helpful hints that others use?

-Yvonne

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(This posting was entered by kumiko yvonne watanabe, an external user of MyDLV.)

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This posting is from: annie
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> Does anyone know what the security luggage check procedures in LV
> McCarren airport?

I've flown out of McCarran several times since 9-11.

In all cases I've checked bags at the curb with no questions other than
the usual. In one case I was asked if I would give them permission to
"wand" me. No major hassle.

However, flying out of Omaha a screener saw a pair of pliers and a
hemostat in my carry-on bag. They rooted thru the bag and then got a
second-level supervisor to approve those items.

My most intimate encounter with the screeners came in San Jose when my
flight back was cancelled after we were aboard the aircraft. They
rebooked me on Untied on a connecting flight thru Denver. The ticket
and boarding pass they gave me were marked as an "interline voucher"
or something, and was obviously not the usual type of ticket and
boarding pass.

When we were boarding, the gate agent saw me coming. I held out the
ticket envelope, and he immediately pointed in the direction of the
screeners. They went thru EVERYTHING. Yes, all the dirty laundry :)
and all. :) (All I had was one carry-on bag.)

This was a flight that connected in Denver after a short layover. In
Denver, I handed my ticket envelope to the gate agent and he said "you
will first have to visit with those fine people over there", pointing
to the screeners. HWGA, dirty laundry and all.

It is evidently such that the voucher for my flight was the equivalent
of a one-way ticket, and those will most often get you sent to the
screeners for inspection.

About a year ago Cat posted a note with some anecdotes regarding her
inspection in Omaha. I'll dig that out and repost it here.

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

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This posting is from: annie
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This is a repost of an item that appeared in the DLV 2002 list sometime
in February of 2002.
. . . . .

Cat seems to have the best of luck (NOT) when it comes to being singled
out for inspections. I asked her to please write it up, as it's amusing
and could help ease the anxiety of those planning to fly to DLV.

Cat writes:

>I am sitting here watching the sun come up in New Orleans and found
>this a perfect time to write you about the travel fun I had in Omaha
>and Orlando. Use what you want or rewrite as you need to. Hope this
>helps alleviate some fears for those flying to DLV.

>For the Christmas holidays in 2000 I flew from Omaha to Orlando, then
>to Houston and finally back to Omaha. At Omaha and Orlando I was the
>receipient of the award for being the "random traveler". At both
>locations my checked baggaged was searched completely (emptied onto a
>table), my carryon was searched at the security checkpoints and my
>carryon as well as myself was searched prior to boarding the plane.

>Each time turned out to be a great experience! I am not a person who
>is very shy, and I tend to talk to most anyone. I have found that most
>people doing the security searches don't care what is in the bag,
>unless it is a weapon of some sort. And, if you talk with them, they
>enjoy the break from a very mundane and thankless job. If you are
>honest about what you are carrying, some great fun can be had.

>In Omaha, I had the first flight of the day out...with eveyone else
>flying that day. The baggage search area has a screen around it for
>the inside, but is viewable by anyone on the outside. There are
>usually 2-3 searches going on at one time. I had two ladies performing
>the search on my bags. One of the first things they encountered was my
>wig head. The question to me was "Where is the rest of the body?". I
>replied "It is travelling incognito". About that time the second lady
>located and opened the breast forms and with a big smile displayed them
>and said "Here she is!"

>The rest of the search was held in much the same atmosphere. All my
>gowns and shoes were discussed and even some of the makeup. (I think
>there may be a convert to MAC). The other "random" people were
>enjoying the fun as much as the security and I were too. What some
>people would think of as a stressful situation was actually one that
>left smiles on alot of people's faces. (I have a smile right now just
>thinking about it!). When I passed through security, my carryons were
>searched and when I was asked about my jewelry and some of the makeup,
>I simply said they were mine and I wore them...which brought a smile to
>the young man's face and a shortened search to my bags. Just before
>boarding, two others and myself were "requested" by name to be searched
>again. This time as the older male security agent was opening my bags,
>I asked if I could get a piece of my jewelry out when he got to it.
>The search was conducted where any passenger could see it and one of
>the ladies made a nice comment when she came onto the plane and passed
>by my seat about how she loved the ring I had chosen. Note: A side
>benefit to this search was I got to get on the plane first so I had my
>pick of seats on the Southwest flight.

>Leaving Orlando, I was priveledged to have a BIG security guard handle
>the search of my checked baggage. He chose to open the storage bag
>with my wigs first. Out came my strawberry blonde. His expression of
>surprise quickly turned to a smile as I said that my friends thought
>that was my best color! This search went fairly quickly after that.
>We did discuss a couple of my heels and where I had gotten them.

>Though there are partitions shielding the search from most customers,
>anyone near the front of the ticket line and the counter personnel can
>see everything going on. Again, there were some nice smiles on several
>faces. At the security checkpoint, my carryons were gone through
>without any questions. Once the makeup was seen, things actually went
>faster than alot of the others bags.

>As in Omaha, I was selected to be searched just before boarding. This
>time my toe nails were done and I did not have socks or hose on. The
>young lady who passed the wane under my feet commented that she liked
>the color and asked where I had them done. My bag and briefcase was
>gone through very quickly and again, I was the first on the plane.

>An addendum to my searches occurred leaving Atlanta in January.
>Passing through security my bags were picked to be searched. The first
>thing pulled out was my makeup bag. When the mid 40s security agent
>opened it up, he made a comment about being "great makeup" and my
>search ended with just a quick feeling of the rest of the contents in
>the bag.

>The bottom line to me on traveling by air and being searched is...be
>honest and have some fun. Keep a smile on your face and most of the
>time you will not only get through without alot of stress, but you will
>brighten up someone's day.

Thanks, Cat. I hope people will realize that if they should be singled
out for inspection, they will be nothing new to the inspectors. They
have seen it all before, many times over.

If I may add a few comments ...

So far (knocking on wood) I haven't been singled out for inspection of
checked items, but I was searched at the security checkpoint once when
the x-ray operator noticed a hemostat and a pair of pliers in my carry
on bag. They pulled me aside and rooted thru the bag, but only really
cared about the tools. They had to call in a supervisor to ok the
pliers, but other than that it was no hassle. Since then I have packed
any tools in the check-in bags.

From my observation, the privacy of the search seems to vary from
airline to airline, from airport to airport, and somewhat by the phase
of the moon. In Omaha, it looks like both American and Southwest have
partitions up around their areas, making them somewhat discreet. On
Midwest Express, they do it on a table to the side of the ticket
counter.

When I took the flight to Atlanta, I phoned Midwest to ask when I REALLY
should be there, and they said 4:45am at the latest for a 6:15am flight.
I got there at 4:30 and the line was snaked around almost out to the
door. They had one person doing inspections, and it appeared that when
she was done with one person, they randomly sent another over to her.
This was right out in the open, but it appeared nobody was paying
attention. Passengers were more concerned with getting their morning
refreshments and finding directions to the gates and such.

I didn't really check out the other airlines in Omaha, since Southwest
is at the extreme north end of the complex and ME and American are at
the extreme opposite end.

In Atlanta, again Midwest Express, there was not a visible search area
anywhere by the ticket counter. The line was short (5 or so, a great
advantage of flying ME instead of Delta out of Atlanta). Nobody on line
at the time was searched.

In Las Vegas (Southwest) they had a few open tables in the area by the
ticket counter with two, maybe three people doing inspections. The line
was several hundred people deep at the time (Southwest is LV's largest
carrier) and seemingly at random people were sent back there. There was
some speculation by the people waiting as to how those were selected.
One person commented that one-way tickets, paying in cash, or showing up
cold with no reservation would guarantee you a trip to the back tables.

As far as airport delays at the checkpoints, I've seen about 15 minutes
max in Omaha, about 20 minutes max in Las Vegas, but in Atlanta they
were backed up all the way to the rotunda by the food court. Took 47 (I
timed it) minutes to clear the checkpoint in Atlanta and it looked like
they were hand-searching very few.

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)