May 20, 2002
Travel Is Broadening But the Lessons Are Hard
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor
Traveling to and from the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting and exhibits in Reno, NV, we were unfortunate enough to be flying Northwest Airlines.
Northwest, like many other carriers in the US, is constantly whining that they have been losing money since the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings. Northwest is also one of the many carriers that have been cutting and/or eliminating travel agent commissions. Ironically, Southwest Airlines, which has not joined the industry plan to cut out travel agent commissions, appears to be one of the only airlines that is actually making a profit.
To offset the loss of revenues, most travel agencies are charging small fees, and still booking passengers on the airlines that deny them commissions. Frankly, I consider this a bargain. The airlines would rather have you call them direct, but preferably book your travel directly with them at the Internet websites. Like a lot of people, I don’t have the time to check a lot of websites to find out who has the most direct connections, the best flight times and the best rates. In addition, I like to talk with a representative who can answer questions more complex than the one-size-fits-all approach of a website program.
(For those who use a bargain-buy outfit like Priceline.com, I have had enough bad experiences to know that their take-it-or-leave-it approach can produce some very unwelcome results. They may save you money, but they may not always give you good value.)
To add to my list of complaints about the round trip to Reno from Buffalo on Northwest, I will mention that they hold back about 50% of seats to assign at the airport, which means more need to arrive at the airport early, more confusion, delay and lack of satisfaction. If you’re lucky, the people you are traveling with will be on the same plane, but not sitting anywhere near you. The Northwest ticket agent in Reno suggested that “Jane” at the departure podium would likely be able to work miracles, but that didn’t pan out. Jane did manage to find a seat for US Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), an NRA director, and another for David Young, author and editor of The Origins of the Second Amendment. But others were not that well served, and since both are about the same 6-foot height as I, they probably didn’t find the window seats on the Airbus 319 anymore comfortable than I did. (Believe it or not, you get more legroom on Northwest’s old DC-9s.
Food a Casualty
This isn’t just a complaint column, but before I get to its meat, I must note that the preparation and service of food—such as it used to be—by the airlines is another casualty of the War on Terrorism. On two legs of the flight out—one of over two hours, the other of over three—the food consisted starkly of a ration of a single bar of dried oatmeal with a few very dry raisins tossed in. Whether these were Taliban surplus military rations captured during the War on Terrorism, I don’t know.
I will admit that on one flight segment, the Northwest agent warned that there would be no food served on the flight and that it would be smart to buy something in the airport before departure. However, buying anything other than a beverage and a candy bar or bag of potato chips in an airport is not as easy as it sounds.
I have flown many times since 9-11, the first time a week after the attacks. Actually, last September, October and November the airlines made you feel more welcome. The security, while more intrusive, is still a joke. But the joke’s on us.
While Norman Minetta, secretary of the US Department of Transportation, and homeland security czar Tom Ridge are still refusing to allow pilots to be armed—even as some in Congress want to force them to comply—the security checkpoints are becoming more absurd. At Reno, for instance, anyone wearing anything other than sneakers on their feet, had to remove their footwear and pass it through the x-ray machine along with carry-on, purses, fanny packs, and even jackets. Of course, they supplied many chairs in the narrow, congested area for people to take off their shoes and boots.
Pat Downs
Once clear, one may be subjected to a pat down by security agents at the gate. This is especially likely if you are a youngish woman. I’ve been on enough flights to observe that women selected for the pat-downs outnumber men of all ages and obvious foreign origin by four and five to one. Some people think that’s because security agents get a thrill from patting down the women, but I suspect that during these showings of increased security, women are more docile and complain less no matter how badly mauled.
All of which brings me to the main purpose of this column. I read the message from Richard Anderson, CEO of Northwest, in that airline’s in-flight magazine.
In his message, Anderson pretends to sympathize with the indignities of increased security checks, giving incidents involving Rep. John Dingell (D-MI)—previously reported in Gun Week—and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as examples. But then he uses the article to promote a digitized “trusted traveler” ID card, complete with a biometric component, such as a fingerprint or retina scan, after a background check.
Anderson is quick to suggest that such a card would be “voluntary,” but he promotes it by saying it would streamline the security screening process and enable the airline and security personal to distinguish between “known” and “unknown” passengers. Anderson says that the two classes of passengers will be subjected to different levels of security scrutiny.
This is just another variation in the drumbeat for national ID cards, being pushed by government officials and the companies that hope to profit from the related technology. Many are suggesting that simply imposing federal standards on the issuance of driver’s licenses will create a national ID card system.
Promises, Promises
Anderson is a guy who is crying that the airline industry is losing money, can’t afford to pay travel agents, can’t afford to serve food, who has cut down significantly on the number of flight attendants on each flight—all presumably because of the War on Terrorism, yet he wants to rely on a “smart” ID card to give everyone a “safe, convenient and—overall—pleasant travel experience.”
I would suspect that in addition to being one of those who wants to promote biotech ID cards for Americans—who can divide themselves by class if they volunteer to accept the ID card—he is also one of those who would deny pilots the opportunity to be armed as a last resort if all the rest of the security schemes fail.
A huge majority of pilots want that option. More than two-thirds of the public supports the pilots.
Ridge has said that if we give in to the pilots, where will we stop. He thus explains the obstinacy of anti-gunners like he, Minetta and Sarah Brady. They just refuse to admit that there is any legitimate use or purpose to handguns.
In their minds, the passengers will want to be armed next.
Now if Northwest Airlines CEO Anderson wants to suggest that option as part of his “trusted traveler” smart ID card, he might be making some sense.
Meanwhile, he’ll have to figure out other ways to make passengers feel welcome on airlines again.