I am BEYOND pist @ Southwest Airlines

[Coventina]

Me and my husband are supposed to fly to Seattle tomorrow, so after midnight I attempted to get the online boarding passes, and it tells me I can't have them.

So I call customer service, and I'm told by the moron on the line that I am not eligible for online boarding passes, I have to check in at the airport. "For security reasons"

I ask why we're being singled out. I'm told we're not being singled out. I ask if everyone on this flight has to do the same. She says no. I say well, then we're being singled out.

She says no, the computer makes those decisions. I said what computer? Yours or the government's? She says she doesn't know. :wtf:
I ask if there is a supervisor who could tell me. She says no.
By this time I'm hyperventilating and crying, because I'm scared to fly as it is, I don't need this shit.

I tell her this is a load of bullshit and I slam the phone down.
I wonder what will happen when we get to the airport tomorrow.

You will probably never hear from me again. We're probably going to be shipped to Gitmo.

I hate what this country has become.

[realisticphish]

1. take a deep breath

and relax.


o, and don't bring a bomb. might be suspicous, you know?

[Tweed]

3. Here's my flame-proof suit

[Amfortas]

especially a nuke...

they can excuse you a lot , but not that.

[Coventina]

4. That was the first time I have EVER used profanity at a service person

but I just lost it when she wouldn't even let me talk to a supervisor.

I am NEVER flying Southwest again.

I hope I never fly anywhere again.

Except maybe to get the hell out of this country permanently.

[realisticphish]

5. actually

i have heard a LOT of complaints about southwest. impolite staff, stuff like this, baggage...

[fleabert]

8. that's unusual in my experience, I only fly SWA, the rest are assholes.

sorry you are getting the shit end from them.

[DemBones DemBones]

2. Wow, I don't blame you for being upset. But maybe it's

just a loose nut at the other end of the phone? Maybe she was wrong, or it's a computer glitch. But I don't buy that she didn't have a supervisor.

We haven't flown since all this started and have no desire to, though we almost went to Italy a few weeks ago. We were NOT looking forward to all the hassles and that was part of the reason we cancelled our trip. Our Italian friends' kids are going to be grown before we see them again at this rate 'cause we haven't been over there since Dubya took office.

What do you plan to do?

[Coventina]

7. Just show up and try to check in.

Don't know what else to do.

They don't give refunds.

If they try to carry me off though, I ain't going quietly.
If I'm going to the gulag, every person at the airport in shouting distance will hear about it.

[fleabert]

6. happens to me occasionally, usually when I book one way tix or book last

minute. give yourself lots of time, you'll get the pat down at the security check point. it infuriates me too. I'd love to know the program parameters in full for the comp. picking me. It's not SWA, all airlines automatically pick out people to give the full search to, at least it's not a body cavity search though!

hope you have a good trip, despite this wrinkle.

[Coventina]

9. These are round trip tickets and been booked for a month

I'm just so pist.

:mad:

[MADem]

10. OK, let me tell you how you will KNOW

I am an expert on security screenings. I am screened every time I fly--we are talking dozens and dozens of times since the buildings fell. Not random--every damn time. For the record, I had a higher clearance than chimpy did when he was in service. I was never AWOL, served a full career, was generously decorated, and retired honorably.

When you get to the counter and they give you your pass, check it carefully. If you see a small CHECKERBOARD PATTERN on it, you are gonna get the treatment. That's the Southwest secret signal! Others have a series of S's in OCR format SSSSSSSSS....still others have the big red S, some have the S in a circle...

They pat ya down, toss your bag, pick over every item like it is radioactive, separate you from your belongings, make you feel like you are a dangerous criminal in police custody, wand you, pat you, examine your feet as though you have a fungus, and then off ya go. I make it a habit of telling everyone around me about my war hero military record (something I ordinarily do not discuss, but I do it for effect, frankly!)....it manages to get everyone in line massively pissed off at the government for abusing me in this fashion, and they usually chime in with a few comments about how uncalled-for the process is, and why can't they sort out the ones who are dangerous from the ones who served their nation for decades. I also used to make it a point to bitch, LOUDLY, when I am separated from my few valuables, and DEMAND that I be allowed to maintain visual contact of them---when an inspector or passenger blocks my view, I holler.

Of course, after doing that twenty or thirty times, now I am so fucking sick of the drill that I travel with a toothbrush, and send my shit ahead or have stuff stashed where I am going--it is not fun, it is demeaning, and it is, in my case, unnecessary. I'm not the enemy, and for the life of me, I have no idea how I ended up on their shit list. I have to think it has to do with my politics, I can't think of any other reason, especially given my background....

I also do a lot more driving if it ain't too long a haul. I resent these bastards, I must tell you. It really pisses me off, because while they search me for probably political reasons, Joey the Terrorist could be strolling through without any problems at all.

[Coventina]

11. Thank you

Thank you for this post.

Really, it helps.

Now I'm just crying.

[MADem]

14. Don't cry

They WIN when you cry. Steel yourself for the ordeal, and find a way to influence or educate your fellow travellers (it helps to be somewhat entertaining, so don't get too strident, just snarky or bitterly funny). Don't incite any riots, be courteously gruff with the people who are paid by the government, and try to maintain the psychological upper hand. You could try the sympathy routine: 'Gee, I feel so sorry for you, Mr. TSA inspector--having to rummage through the luggage of patriotic Americans like a member of the Gestapo. Almost as bad as being a prostitute, I'd imagine. You must really need the job, huh? Watch out for that underwear, pal, it's begging for a trip to the washer! Don't mind the stink! '

Set your head, grit your teeth, and get through it. Pay attention to the process, so if you are, in fact, 'on the list,' you can develop strategies to cope with the indignity should it keep happening to you.

[Coventina]

15. Thanks again. Knowing you're with me in spirit helps.

I'll be strong.

[Q3JR4]

12. Don't worry,

you're not the only one who has to deal with this treatment.

I'm waiting to see what happens to me when I fly to Chicago next week.

:hug:

[KitchenWitch]

13. I am not on any list

But due to a metal implant, I set off the alarms and attract all kinds of TSA attention. Thankfully I never travel alone, so my carry on baggage can be tended to by one of my companions.

[MADem]

16. You know, when all of our kids who made it out of the sandbox

...minus arms and legs and with pins and bits start reentering society, we're going to see a lot more of what you go through at security gates across America. And everyday Americans will get a chance to look at the sight of a prosthetic limb on a strong, healthy young kid who isn't even of voting age, often as not. Not enough Americans are aware of what these kids have gone through, and not enough of them care. I think if more folks saw the real effect of this war, up close, on a real person and not on a tv screen, they'd be less worried about yellow ribbons for their SUVs and more worried about getting these kids the hell out of there,

[KitchenWitch]

17. Yes it will

And that totally sucks. I carry a card, and warn the guards right away, so they can get a female guard to search me. One of these times I fully expect to be hauled into a room and strip searched.

[DemBones DemBones]

19. Speaking of them getting a female guard to search women,

after hearing about how women's breasts are being carefully examined for security reasons, I wonder why they're not examining men's crotches.

Don't they know they could have a bomb in there? :nuke:

Flying naked is the only way to be safe from terrorists, I tell you.

[fujiyama]

18. I don't know

about Southwest's policies in particular but it may just have to do with the amount of time before the flight you are allowed to collect check in and collect E tickets.

It may have been that they wanted you to check in earlier or later but I have no idea.

[ComerPerro]

20. I have had that damn checkerboard on my boarding pass every time

flown.

A "checkboard" on your boarding pass means you have been randomly selected for an extensive security search. You have to let them scan your entire body, let them inspect your shoes, and they go through your bag.

I've been making a point wheever I pack now to include at least three anti-Bush books in my carry-on.

[sportndandy]

21. Congratulations! You are a Selectee! Get to the Airport early!

When you can't print out your boarding pass from home, it means that you are a designated selectee. Its purely random, but at least they give away the fact by withholding your boarding pass. PIA, but it only really means an extra 15 minutes in security.

[intrepid_wanderer]

22. ever flown to Israel???

We are just joining the circumstances that they've had to deal with (and others) for quite some time.

I don't care for the aforementioned 'gestapo-like' techniques either, but it's not reasonable to presume that all non-Arabic appearing people should pass through screening freely, is it???

It sucks, it's reality... until we develop a better process, no??

I tend to be screened every time (missed a wanding once in MANY flights)... I suspect simply BECAUSE of military service... I think it's probably an assumption that we're all trained to kill with super-secret hand-to-hand skills or something (which we're not... btw).

I expect some flaming, but... nonetheless

I HOPE your flight goes more smoothly than expected & once through security that you are at the least, comfortable. I feel for you!