Luggage
& Gear
As always, i was traveling with one of the
army
surplus steel mortar cases that are my customary luggage. After major
error by the TSA in Newark when I was making some overseas travel (they cut
locks off some of my luggage) i made the switch to Abloy
Protec Puck Padlocks which are uncuttable as well as wholly un-pickable.
On this trip to meet with TOOOL associates in
Iowa i had one Beretta Model 92 pistol.
Outbound
Travel 
I arrived particularly early for my morning
flight out of PHL. Even at 06:30, the airport was bustling and staff were
present everywhere to handle check-ins. Niruh and Kyrah (in many instances,
i do my best phonetic spelling of names told to me verbally... this is such
an instance) checked me in. I was not asked to open and show the unloaded
status of my pistol. Kyrah insisted that there is no special entry in the
USAir baggage tracking system for firearm-bearing luggage. As usual, after
the basic check-in we proceeded down to counter number 19 where the oversize
baggage belt is located. My hard case was sent (locked) back to the TSA while
Niruh waited with me. I heard the word "firearm" called out in some
discussions as they found a screener to perform an immediate x-ray run. All
things were clear. I have never had an issue checking in at this airport with
this carrier, but one is given to wonder what policy they have in place if
a firearm bag alerts in some way... where does secondary screening take place?
I
made all of my multiple connections and the luggage arrived on time and without
incident in Cedar Rapids, IA. I really must look into adding smaller carriers
like Mesa Airlines and Allegiant Air to my summary pages, as it appears that
some legs of my journey may have been partnered flights in conjunction with
these carriers. Some legs of this journey were also apparently double-branded
under the United Airlines name, as well. My entire flight home was, ostensibly,
with that latter carrier.
Homebound
Travel 
When checking-in for my United Airlines journey
back to Philadelphia I was helped first by Crystal and then by Kevin, the
former seeming a bit unfamiliar (though by no means difficult) with matters
of firearms. In response to an inquiry of "which of [my] bags contain
firearms" (I was coming home with lockpicking equipment from Iowa inside
an additional piece of luggage that I didn't have with me before) I
asked Kevin flat-out why he needed to know... I asked if there are any special
entries in the luggage computer records to indicate firearms in a bag.
Kevin
confirmed, in no uncertain terms, that yes... there are special codes
put into passenger luggage records to denote the presence of a firearm.
When i asked why this was at all necessary, Kevin stated that, "All parties
want to know. It's for the flight crew, the ground crew, the TSA, etc."
I didn't get into any debates with this lowly airline staffer at the check-in
counter, but that seems highly silly. The flight crew does not interact with
my bag, nor can anyone in the passenger compartment access my luggage during
air travel. The ground crews are not supposed to treat firearm luggage any
differently than other luggage... indeed, special measures are taken under
the law to prevent those transporting and handling firearms from knowing
that they are doing so. And the TSA naturally is aware of any firearms in
luggage due to the passenger's need to follow the federal declaration and
screening procedure.
When
I proceeded to the TSA screening area I was initially met by TSA officer Carrie
(overheard in conversation... last name possibly "Cummings" but
i could not get a clear look at her identification) who marked a red "L"
on my luggage tag... ostensibly to indicate its "locked" status
(which would be more than clear to anyone operating the x-ray machine... a
machine that was right next to her and would be used immediately
following this useless gesture.) The inVision machine popped an alert
on my case and I was asked to open it. Actually, i was asked for my key...
and i was about to object when they took one look at my Protec key and insane
puck padlock and just blurted out "uhm, maybe you'd better do it."
A hand scan of my hard case was performed on a table right in front of me
(interestingly they had a hydraulic table mechanism, for purposes of ergonomic
adjustment for TSA staffers of varying height) by officer Carrie and a TSA
supervisor, Karmack. There was a bit of confusion on the supervisor's part,
as she asserted "You'll need some locks on this!" while holding
up my small pistol case. I pointed out that said case was traveling within
a much larger hard case and that the outer case was being locked. "Oh,
that's fine... just put the declaration card inside of the smaller case"
was her reply.
The
case was re-closed and i affixed the outer lock. I was on my way and due to
some fortunate coincidences in seating, was able to observe my luggage being
loaded and unloaded at basically all points on my journey home. My luggage
arrived on time and without incident at PHL.
Final
Details & Thoughts
I plan to surely follow-up with United Airlines and demand to know why they
feel it is useful or proper to make specialized entries in their baggage computer
for luggage that contains firearms. While i have still never seen the alleged
row of "F" characters appear on a luggage tag, this new development
does surely make clear that such a tactic could easily be employed
(or could have been in the past) given that their baggage system is setup
to track firearms with unnecessary scrutiny.
