Account of Flying with Firearms

Dr. Tran An account of armed air travel from Dr. Tran, in his own words.
PHL --> LAX 2010-06-15	LAX --> PHL 2010-06-18

Here's a splendid air travel account written by a dashing secret agent with a PhD in Kicking Your Ass...

Luggage & Gear
I was traveling to Los Angeles for a work function and wanted to bring some of my lock collection and equipment with me. Fearing that something would get stolen, I decided to include a firearm in the case so I could lock it up. Luggage and Locks: Pelican 1450 with Abloy 321 and 330 padlocks.

Outbound Travel
At check-in, I arrived at ticketing and went straight to the “special accommodations” counter. I stated that I wanted to check-in and declare a firearm. The airline staff asked me how many pieces of luggage I would be checking and I told her it would be 2, but only one had a firearm. She pulled out the orange “Unloaded Firearm” card, filled it out and had me sign it. She asked that I place the card inside the case with the firearm before I locked it up. My luggage was taken to TSA for scanning. I was okayed and didn’t have to do anything else. Smooth sailing. My case arrived like any other piece of luggage without issue.

Homebound Travel
On my return flight, I was sent to the “full service” counter for US Airways at LAX. Again, it was smooth sailing, but this time they pointed me to the TSA luggage drop off point. Upon arrival at the luggage drop off point, I notified the TSA agent that I had declared a firearm in my pelican case. Usually, they would scan it, clear it, and I’d be on my way. However, the CTX machine for this drop off point was broken. I would have had to wait with my case until the machine was operational again. I pointed out that there was another TSA luggage screening station down the hall, but she told me that the screening area was for West Coast destination flights. I politely asked her if it would be possible for them to just clear the one case since upon clearing, I could leave it at the East Coast drop off point. She agreed and walked my case over to the other screening station. The station cleared my case, and the TSA agent dropped it off for me (as I’m not allowed to touch the locked case after it’s been TSA cleared). Upon arrival, I picked up my still locked case and trekked through heavy Philadelphia traffic to home.

Final Details & Thoughts
I give it 4 stars all-around.

Air Travel Ratings
If you don't have the time or the desire to read the full text of someone's account of air travel, you can simply refer to the rating shown at the conclusion of each portion of that person's journey. The following criteria are used in assigning these ratings...

Four Stars	check-in - no hassle, no delay screening - in full view, lock and unlock yourself luggage - all on time and intact
Three Stars	check-in - some delay or mild hassle screening - somewhat obscured, locking and unlocking yourself or it's done directly in front of you luggage - all on time and intact
Two Stars	check-in - major delay or major hassle screening - in a room or area that you could not enter and could barely observe luggage - luggage opened non-destructively
One Star	check-in - flight missed or passenger delayed from flying, properly packed items denied as luggage screening - luggage unlocked and opened totally in another area fully removed from you luggage - destructive entry into luggage and/or tampering with firearms
Zero Stars	This is a special category for outright theft, loss, or damage of firearms during air travel
half-star results are possible... naturally, they involve partial or mitigated problems that somehow fall in-between the above categories