Why Was I Selected for Special Security Detailing After Flight Cancellations?

[Gokul43201]

After hanging around in the airport, here, for 4 hours (all United flts were canceled because they ran out of de-icer) I was finally made to feel special.

The TSA guy smiled at me before letting me know that I've been selected for SPECIAL SECURITY DETAILING.

Thanks, now I feel better

 

[loseyourname]

What airport are you at?

 

[Math Is Hard]

After hanging around in the airport, here, for 4 hours (all United flts were canceled because they ran out of de-icer) I was finally made to feel special.

The TSA guy smiled at me before letting me know that I've been selected for SPECIAL SECURITY DETAILING.

Thanks, now I feel better

ruh roh..
ok, gang, I think we're going to have to go to the airport and save Gokul!

 

[Astronuc]

MIH, you now have an opportunity to use your Weapon of Math Instruction.

Gokul, I hope you make it home tomorrow.

Sounds like Chicago's O'Hare (ORD) airport.

 

[Evo]

You don't ever want to get on a plane that I am booked on because there will be some type of major engine malfunction. A four hour flight will be guaranteed to become a two day ordeal where you end up stranded in some rathole the airline books you at to spend the night because by the time you get to the city where you are supposed to change planes, the last flight out has already departed.

Any international flight I am on is guaranteed to be a minimum 36 hour ordeal where the first 8 hours is spent sitting on the runway while they repair an engine and won't let anyone off the plane because everyone has already cleared security/customs. The plane will run out of food, beverages and toilet paper 12 hours prior to landing and of course there is a screaming baby sitting directly behind you for all 36 hours.

 

[loseyourname]

On the contrary, you'll want to fly with me. The last three times I was upgraded to first class and even got to pre-board once (due to a temporary deafness in one ear). Never been selected for Security Detailing on a plane, but I was selected on a train once, because my ticket was one-way. Strangely enough, it was the DEA that checked me out, and it was during a stop in Albuquerque (the ticket was Fullerton, CA to Newark, NJ).

 

[Evo]

On the contrary, you'll want to fly with me. The last three times I was upgraded to first class and even got to pre-board once (due to a temporary deafness in one ear). Never been selected for Security Detailing on a plane, but I was selected on a train once, because my ticket was one-way. Strangely enough, it was the DEA that checked me out, and it was during a stop in Albuquerque (the ticket was Fullerton, CA to Newark, NJ).

From now on I'm flying with you! I hope your good luck is strong enough to counter my bad luck.

 

[Math Is Hard]

MIH, you now have an opportunity to use your Weapon of Math Instruction.

oooohh! It might be too late. No telling what they've done with Gokul!

 

[Math Is Hard]

What the heck is "special detailing", anyway? Isn't that what they do to cars if you pay extra at the carwash? Are they going to Armor-all poor Gokul?

 

[plover]

What the heck is "special detailing", anyway?

I thought this was where they put on racing stripes or painted flames on the side or added those "ground effect" thingies (I think that's the right technical term).

But I have a terrible feeling SPECIAL SECURITY DETAILING is going to involve thumbscrews and Donny Osmond records. I just hope Gokul had a chance to hide all his chocolate—you just know those security people will declare it "contraband" then "forget" to fill out the paperwork...

Poor Gokul! Where's Tsu and her flying bus? (De-icer? We don' need no stinkin' de-icer! )

 

[Math Is Hard]

Hang in there, Gokul! We're coming to save you...eventually.

(Try not to worry, plover. Maybe Gokul was smart and drugged the chocolates before he got to the airport - for just such a situation..)

 

[Tsu]

What the heck is "special detailing", anyway? Isn't that what they do to cars if you pay extra at the carwash? Are they going to Armor-all poor Gokul?

I'm afraid this involves a type of 'probe' or two...

 

[Math Is Hard]

oh, thank heavens - Tsu is here! Maybe you'd better drive. I'm a nervous wreck!

 

[Math Is Hard]

Gokul - don't tell them anything! We're coming!

 

[Chrono]

Gokul - don't tell them anything! We're coming!

No matter what kind of torture they use.

 

[Moonbear]

Gokul, did you make it out yet? I think I was the last of the lucky few to get out yesterday. I've been checking on the status of flights here to find out if I might see my luggage before I return home, and it looks like everything today was cancelled, and they've even already canceled tomorrow morning's flight, so I decided to suck it up and head to WalMart (the cheap, disposable quality clothing they sell finally has a purpose in my life). I got the storm here today in the form of RAIN, no, not rain, pouring, no not pouring, buckets! I don't even want to think about how much snow is going to be thawed slightly and refrozen as ice on my driveway when I get home. At least the snow shovel is in my car, assuming I can get into the car even! I suspect I'm going to be parking in the street for a while.

 

[Gokul43201]

Finally. It took me about 20 hrs to fly from Ohio to California.

That first post was kinda rushed. I decided, after finding a gazillion people in the bars at the Columbus airport, to spend my 5 bucks of booze money on some internet time instead, and get my PF fix. Didn't realize that when I started that post, I had less than 2 minutes left.

So, as I was attempting to say before, I, and every single other non-(white Caucasian) was "randomly selected" for special additional security. First I felt like lecturing the TSA guy on what "random" means. Instead, I tried to subtly hint at the low likelihood that I would try to hijack a plane that I had not even originally booked my tickets for. Eventually, I gave up and agreed to let the guy know if I felt he was touching me inappropriately, in sensitive areas.

This was the first snowstorm of the season, and United "ran out" of de-icer on day 2??! What were they thinking ?

It's past 3 am here (6am, my biological time). I'm going to try and get some sleep.

Thanks y'all, for rallying around.

PS : I flew from Columbus to Chicago to San Jose.

 

[tribdog]

So, as I was attempting to say before, I, and every single other non-(white Caucasian) was "randomly selected" for special additional security. First I felt like lecturing the TSA guy on what "random" means. Instead, I tried to subtly hint at the low likelihood that I would try to hijack a plane that I had not even originally booked my tickets for. Eventually, I gave up and agreed to let the guy know if I felt he was touching me inappropriately, in sensitive areas.

Quit being non-white then.

actually I'm about as white as they come and I've never NOT been selected for the random searches.

 

[BobG]

This was the first snowstorm of the season, and United "ran out" of de-icer on day 2??! What were they thinking ?

I wonder if Delta has the same problem. Every Delta flight out of Akron is canceled this morning. Who knows when my daughter will get here!

Of course, the bright side is that her husband will almost certainly get selected for 'detailing'. He's Albanian. (Ah, I shouldn't say that because ... why should I like him again? )

 

[plover]

Yay! You survived being "secured"!

I hope you at least got to tell him just how much safer you felt due to his "appropriate" attentions...

First I felt like lecturing the TSA guy on what "random" means.

What? You didn't give him a comparative lecture on random number generators and tips on Monte Carlo methods? It might have put him to sleep, or at least confused him so much he would want to be shut of you. Being a physics student has to be good for something...

This was the first snowstorm of the season, and United "ran out" of de-icer on day 2??! What were they thinking ?

Um, maybe, "if we all believe really hard that we're in Miami, we won't need any"?

(As opposed to Tsu, who doesn't need any due to her exquisite bus piloting abilities...)

 

[BobG]

I wonder if Delta has the same problem. Every Delta flight out of Akron is canceled this morning. Who knows when my daughter will get here!

And the answer is ... tomorrow. Every single Delta flight out of Akron canceled while every single other airline's flights go out on time.

I guess it wasn't a very happy scene. The Delta rep saying the flight was canceled due to weather while all the other planes are taking off. He finally resorted to trying to shame all of the irate passengers, telling them nothing bad has happened to them, they haven't even left home yet ... think of all the passengers stranded in airline terminals across the country. True, but my daughter didn't notice a single person counting their blessings.

What a depressing morning. I decided to work today and take my holiday on Monday when she's here, so I'm the only person in the whole building.

Of course, on the brighter side, I just got notified that my prompt payment for the Teen Talking Barbie and Talking Duke GI Joe I bought on eBay just raised my feedback rating. There's a certificate that I can download and display proudly. Ah, the little things in life, eh.

 

[Tsu]

I hope you have all learned your lesson from this unfortunate travel season.
Next time fly TransTsunami.

 

[BoulderHead]

The TSA guy smiled at me before letting me know that I've been selected for SPECIAL SECURITY DETAILING.

Thanks, now I feel better

Sometimes you have to get loud enough to make a small scene. Show plenty of righteous indignation, demand they immediately stop what they’re doing and give you a thorough rectal examination (great stunt to use when passing through Customs). The more people in line hearing this, the better.

 

[BobG]

I hope you have all learned your lesson from this unfortunate travel season.
Next time fly TransTsunami.

So little sympathy. You must be in the medical profession.

"Stop your whining and roll over. I need to take your temperature."

 

[Evo]

I hope you have all learned your lesson from this unfortunate travel season.
Next time fly TransTsunami.

But we're still going to strip search all the guys that board the RV, right? I mean, we don't want to take any chances...

Glad you arrived at your destination safely Gokul! Flying around the Christmas holidays has to be the worst time ever to travel.

 

[Math Is Hard]

"Stop your whining and roll over..."

..said the TSA agent to Gokul.

Evo, you're right. Why do random searches when it's so much safer to search ALL the men boarding the RV! Guys, plan on being at the RV 2 hours before departure.

I am flying out tomorrow, too, BobG. We plan on just stretching Christmas out a little longer.

Glad you made it out here safely, Gokul. Enjoy the nice California weather. It is predicted to be very, very cold in Houston, so I might actually have to go buy some sweaters.

 

[BoulderHead]

But we're still going to strip search all the guys that board the RV, right? I mean, we don't want to take any chances...

You may want to hold off on that until after I've boarded. I'm more than just a fright but shy too. :shy: :shy:

 

[Integral]

Did I miss the bus? When is it leaving?

Sure glad that we didn't get that jet... it'd be out of de icer... I need some de icer!

 

[Math Is Hard]

I think the party bus leaves some time tomorrow. Tom's b'day is Christmas Day, but I am not sure what day he's having the actual festivities.

 

[Moonbear]

I wonder if Delta has the same problem. Every Delta flight out of Akron is canceled this morning. Who knows when my daughter will get here!

Muwahahahaha! They used up all the de-icer on MY plane! We took about an hour and a LOT of de-icer to get my plane de-iced. Flights just started resuming again this afternoon...I might still get my luggage before it's time to return home.

 

[Grogs]

This was the first snowstorm of the season, and United "ran out" of de-icer on day 2??! What were they thinking ?

These must be the same guys that run the Lowe's here in my town. I went in there last November thinking I would pick up some salt to put on the sidewalk when we had our first snow. I couldn't find it anywhere in the store so I asked one of the managers and he told me "Oh, we don't usually put that out until it snows." What? You mean I have to risk my butt driving all the way out here in the snow to get ice for my sidewalks? Luckily, the guys over at Home Depot seemed to have a little bit better sense of prior planning.


I feel at least a little of your pain on the security screening thing. The first time I flew from Virginia to Korea (talk about a painful trip - 13,000 miles!) I got selected at every single airport along the way. To make matters worse, I had (stupidly!) worn steel toed boots that took about 5 minutes to take off and put back on. They of course set off every metal detector, meaning I had to take off my boots, go back through, and wait in line for another 10 minutes to be wanded. For the flights back, I wore slip-on shoes, shaved my beard, put on some dressy clothes, and never got stopped once.

 

[BobG]

And the answer is ... tomorrow. Every single Delta flight out of Akron canceled while every single other airline's flights go out on time.

And the answer is ... Monday. Every single Delta flight out of Akron canceled until Monday while every single other airline's flights go out on time.

Uh, oh... I might have to quit saying mean things about my son-in-law. Trying to check out other options (like Cleveland, for example), I just noticed that their reservations have already been changed. Different airline, a little later, but still today.

They haven't called to say what's up yet, but... could it be?

Way to go, Joni!

 

[Astronuc]

This was the first snowstorm of the season, and United "ran out" of de-icer on day 2??! What were they thinking ?

United (UAL) is still operating under bankruptcy protection. They are trying to keep costs down and are still negotiating agreements with labor unions. Maybe the company will emerge from bankruptcy in 2005.

Hopefully the return trip to Columbus will go smoother.

 

[tribdog]

These must be the same guys that run the Lowe's here in my town. I went in there last November thinking I would pick up some salt to put on the sidewalk when we had our first snow. I couldn't find it anywhere in the store so I asked one of the managers and he told me "Oh, we don't usually put that out until it snows." What? You mean I have to risk my butt driving all the way out here in the snow to get ice for my sidewalks? Luckily, the guys over at Home Depot seemed to have a little bit better sense of prior planning.

I don't know why that reminded me of something, but it did. I stayed in a Motel 8 once, and the room was FREEZING. The heater wasn't working at all. I called to complain and the person at the front desk told me their heaters don't work when it's too cold outside. I said, "oh, but when its 119 outside here they probably fire right up" I might have thrown a bit of a fit actually and used some choice words. on a side note I am not allowed to rent a room at any Motel 8 in America.(true, I tried a couple months ago)

 

[Astronuc]

HEBRON, Ky. (Dec. 25) - Comair canceled all its 1,100 flights on Saturday because computer problems knocked out its system that manages flight assignments, a spokesman said.

Nick Miller, a spokesman for the Delta subsidiary based at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Regional Airport, said the cancellations affected 30,000 travelers in 118 cities.

Ohio was just beginning to recover from a paralyzing winter storm that socked the state Wednesday and Thursday. Comair canceled most of its Thursday flights after it ran critically low on de-icer fluid. Half the airline's flights out of the Cincinnati airport Friday also were canceled.

So United wasn't the only ones with problems.

 

[Tsu]

So little sympathy. You must be in the medical profession.

"Stop your whining and roll over. I need to take your temperature."

Yep. And wait until you see what I USE to take your temperature!1111

 

[tribdog]

Yep. And wait until you see what I USE to take your temperature!1111

does it have a red button that pops up if you have temperature.

 

[Moonbear]

Ohio was just beginning to recover from a paralyzing winter storm that socked the state Wednesday and Thursday. Comair canceled most of its Thursday flights after it ran critically low on de-icer fluid. Half the airline's flights out of the Cincinnati airport Friday also were canceled.

Well, they managed to get ONE flight out here last night (delayed by about 5 hours from the original schedule...they could have just given it the number of the late night flight that got canceled since it left closer to that time than the originally scheduled time). Anyway, I was very happy to answer the door this morning to find someone from Delta there with my luggage! Yay! I told him it was a wonderful Christmas present. I have another week before I head home, so hopefully they'll have sorted things out by then, or maybe I'll just take a bus! LOL!

 

[BobG]

This was my daughter's revised Delta itinerary:

United Airlines flight Akron to Chicago.
Northwest Airlines flight Chicago to Minneapolis.
Northwest Minneapolis to Rapid City,SD.
Delta flight Rapid City to Salt Lake City.
Delta flight Salt Lake City to Colorado Springs.

Except, the Delta flight from Rapid City was pulling away from the gate just as passengers were getting off the Northwest flight, which lead to the revised, revised Delta itinerary:

25 Dec
United Airlines flight Akron to Chicago.
Northwest Airlines flight Chicago to Minneapolis.
Northwest Minneapolis to Rapid City,SD.
26 Dec
United Airlines Rapid City to Denver.
Ford Explorer (purchased in Akron) Denver to Colorado Springs.

The luggage, taking a little bit more round about route, arrived 27 Dec.

Maybe Delta's on to something. Maintenance and labor costs have to be lower if you have the other airlines actually do the flying.