Smackaholic....Your Thoughts?

[Diego in Seattle]

Are we going to be seeing this here in the US anytime soon?

http://www.futuretravelexperience.com/2 ... -security/

[Left Seater]

Mrs Lefty and I also have global entry which comes with TSA Pre-Check. This is security before it became theater and a government jobs program. Leave your shoes and belt on. Don't have to take your laptop out nor your liquids bag. In fact you don't even have to comply with the Ziploc bag for you liquids, you can just leave them in your shaving kit.

On top of that there is a program called Clear. This is a paid program that allows you to go to the front of the security line. You don't have to wait for a TSA agent to look at your ID and compare it to the name on your boarding pass. Instead you walk up to the kiosk, put your boarding pass down on the scanner, then put your index and middle fingers of your right hand on the reader and it allows you to pass. You are then right at the x-ray machine. Your bags still get scanned and you still have to walk thru the metal detector, but with Clear security takes 2 minutes at the most and that is from before you reach the kiosk until you are past the security theater.

https://www.clearme.com/


So, with Clear and Global Entry I can leave the country and return and never have to deal with a human.

[atmdad]

So, with Clear and Global Entry I can leave the country and return and never have to deal with a human.

You don't even have to worry if the pilot is a complete tard ... well your wife probably still does.

[Left Seater]

Nope never have to worry about that. Now the wait staff is another matter.

[smackaholic]

That must be in some Cat X airports. I rarely work in any, so I haven't seen it yet. I work mostly Cat 1s so all I have seen is pre-check which doesn't really get you out of a hell of a lot. Still can't bring a fukking bottle of water through. Well, actually, you can bring half a dozen 3 oz bottles, but don't even think about 1 8 oz. The whole fukking thing is the biggest dog and pony show ever. If the Islamo-shitheads never pull off a single attck here, they have still gotten over by forcing us to spend billions a year on dumbfukkery.

[Left Seater]

Clear is in some airports where security lines can get stupid. Denver and Vegas being primary examples. But the biggest factor for me is they have it here at my home airport. Granted San Antonio isn't a huge airport but I am now arriving about 20 mins before my flight is scheduled to leave.

[smackaholic]

Do you have to go through the TSA checkpoint when you are working? Seems like every airport has their own rules, which makes zero sense to me. At BDL, aircrew can check in right where travelers are exiting. They just show their credentials to the TSO there and they are good to go. At PVD they have to go through regular screening. At least they do get pre-check privileges. You would think that the screening rules for similar airports would be the same, but they are not.

The whole system is a rolling cluster fukk from top to bottom.

[Left Seater]

Do I have to go thru security when I am working?

Yes and no. I don't fly for an airline so I don't operate out of a TSA secured area of the airport. Therefore I don't have a known crew member badge. However that badge doesn't let flight crews skip security, it only allows them to cut the line.

So when I am riding as a pad in a plane to get to or from a flight I have to go thru security just like anyone else as does the flight crew. When I am flying from an FBO or anywhere outside of the secure terminal area I don't have to go thru security and neither do my pax.

[Diego in Seattle]

LS....random question....

Is there a difference in aviation fuel quality internationally like there is for automobile fuel?

[Left Seater]

Simple answer is yes. However you mitigate that risk by buying fuel from trusted FBOs or fuel suppliers. These folks are hopefully testing fuel as it is delivered to them. Then they are testing each truck load they put in the gas truck. These places shouldn't balk at showing test results and you want to see some variation over time.

The biggest problem is water infiltration in some of these places. Vent and loading seals wear out and allow water to enter the truck.

There are some places in the States and Mexico where we tanker our own fuel. That is we fill the tanks with what is needed to fly the round trip plus reserve or onto the next stop so we do t have to buy fuel at a certain place. This means the plane is heavier than it needs to be and we burn more since there is additional weight, but this can be offset due to the cost of purchasing fuel or qc in some smaller place.

[smackaholic]

Do I have to go thru security when I am working?

Yes and no. I don't fly for an airline so I don't operate out of a TSA secured area of the airport. Therefore I don't have a known crew member badge. However that badge doesn't let flight crews skip security, it only allows them to cut the line.

So when I am riding as a pad in a plane to get to or from a flight I have to go thru security just like anyone else as does the flight crew. When I am flying from an FBO or anywhere outside of the secure terminal area I don't have to go thru security and neither do my pax.

That's right, I forgot you aren't an airline jockey. Do you do charters? I believe the rule is charters over 50 pax still have to go through regular TSA bullshit. I have one airport, CEF (westover) which has a TSA checkpoint for a lousy once or twice a month charter for bluehairs to go to AC to piss money away in the casinos. What a huge fukking waste of money. Better part of a half million bucks in equipment that sits largely unused.

What I really don't get is the TSA presence in all these podunk airports which are there only for a single carrier flying into a single airport. Cape Air has flights from shitty little airports all over the U&R. They all fly into Cape Air's hub, BOS. The only reason they need TSA screening is that pax are flying into a hub where they are in a sterile area. Wouldn't it make sense to have all these flights come into a single terminal at BOS where you could set up a TSA screening checkpoint? Would be a lot cheaper than keeping full time staff for 3 flights a day from RUT, LEB, SLK and a few others?

Ahhh, fukk it. Job security, I guess. Plus, these are nice places to drive to for a living. And it's not like the gubmint will run out of money. They can print more.