Account of Flying with Firearms

Deviant Ollam I've come to love how the TSA does things in Chicago

ORD -> PHL 2011-12-18

Luggage & Gear
This was a really quick trip that i've made dozens of times. While Chicago isn't a terrific place for guns, the airport process works really well... at least as far as the TSA is concerned. I had my Pelican case with me, containing my H&K carry piece. Magazines held the ammo, and they were locked into the small hard-sided holster that satisfies TSA requirements. A couple of other boxes of ammo rounded things out... and I think it was all under 11 lbs, heh. Abloy PL321s on the outside... one day I plan to adapt the case and make them secured with internal cam locks. I'll have to get back in touch with Security Snobs about that. ;-)

Travel
I arrived at ORD and proceeded to the Envoy check-in area. I was able to instantly check-in at the kiosk and print out my boarding pass, but processing of my bags was delayed by staff assisting someone in front of me. Darlene H from USAir was assisting various confused people, and then proceeded with me. When she asked for my ID, i flipped out my wallet. She apparently looked at my CCW permit, and it surprises me how confusing this can be for some folk.

"Are you keeping it with you?" Darlene asked me. After some puzzled questions n my part, I came to understand that she was asking if I planned on carrying my pistol with me on the plane. "Ah, no... let's just check it in my bag," was my ultimate decision on the matter. :-) So, the staff at ORD are occasionally a bit slow on the uptake when firearms are involved, but it all worked out. Deborah (with whom I once had a less than stellar experience at ORD) also helped. She balked slightly over the fact that I had luggage over 50 lbs, until I reminded her that first class passengers have 70 lbs of allotment. One of the reasons I am likely switching to United is the fact that Gold and higher fliers get three bags at 70 lbs by default, no matter what cabin class they're in.

Deborah asked me to physically demonstrate that my pistol was unloaded and I had the joy of exposing some Chicagoans to a firearm...

... and then the luggage was secured and tagged. I proceeded to the TSA's baggage screening area, which is directly next to the counter. All passengers deposit their luggage right there in the check-in hall, and I think that's a terrific way to do things. The bags went through, all was clear, and i zipped through passenger screening where there was absolutely no line.

Twenty-two minutes after I set foot in the airport, I was through security and walking to my gate. Not half bad.

Final Details & Thoughts
All luggage arrived in Philadelphia on time and without incident. It was good to be home.

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