weasil
20th Mar 2002, 10:10
"Hooking Fell" started this post recently on Rumors and I thought I would add it to our forum for your opinions. I wonder if they really will let us carry guns for one thing.... .___________________________________________. .. ."Having just returned from a trip to the US (using tickets purchased at published tariffs) with five domestic flights and the inward and outbound trans-Pacific legs, I can only hope that someone can be found among the population of 300 or so million in the US who can get a handle on what is supposed to be airport security.. .. .Prior to boarding all five UA domestic flights and the SFO-HKG flights, Mr and Mrs Hooking Fell were subjected to endless and mostly pointless "Special Screening". As neither of us is black, Muslim or otherwise related to a "minority" group with vocal liberal lobbyists, the media at large will, of course, have no interest in this type of harassment of WASPs.. .. .However, as a matter of interest why we were being subjected to what were clearly not randoming screening exercises and why we had "SSSS" stamped all over our boarding passes, we were told - and this is no joke - that it was because we had not purchased our tickets directly from the airline but from a travel agent . .. .Hello UA: as long as the air fares on your website are higher than those offered by any travel agent in town, only stupid passengers would buy direct. Which obviously leads to the conclusion that smart passengers, who know where to sniff out better deals, are prime potential terrorist material. Right?. .. .(Another exarcerbating factor is apparently that we had dared do this in our home town, HKG, which apparently is seen now as being a hub for terrorism).. .. .God Bless America, it needs it."