When it's Too Far to Drive
Flying used to be fun
The first time I flew commercially was back around 1982, when I flew from Seattle to Minneapolis for a year of bible school right out of high school. It was so exciting! An adventure! Mom and dad saw me right to the jetway and waved me onto the plane. My checked bag was a big old Army surplus duffel bag. I brought my harp on-board as a carry-on in an unfolded hang bag which the Stewardess carefully stowed in a closet at the front of the cabin. I had a plane change somewhere, maybe Dallas? The whole thing was a positive experience.
A few years later a girlfriend and I flew to the South Pacific and hopped from Hawaii to New Zealand to Australia to Fiji and back to Hawaii just doing extended layovers on the Continental Airlines route. Again: exciting adventure! Practically effortless.
Several years later I flew to Japan to teach English for a year. Same drill. Same adventure. Flying was cool and I looked forward to any trip.
While in Japan (ca. 1989-90) Desert Storm happened. Overnight Narita Airport grew roped barriers, roving bands of soldiers, plywood mazes, and checkpoints. Flying to visit my sister in Korea became a bit more complicated, but still fun.
After 9/11, the TSA landed like a mothership of invading overlords, and suddenly flying was Not Fun anymore. Rather than just install air marshals on planes, the default setting became “everybody is guilty until proven otherwise,” but God forbid we actually profile anybody because that would be profiling.
I have flown on commercial airlines twice since 2000. Once for a job in Alaska, and once to go to Disneyland for my birthday about six years ago. Both times dealing with the TSA gave me alternating hives and burning rage.
We are flying to Texas in September, and I will tap into our Home Equity loan if I have to to ensure our experience is as pain-free as possible. Just made appointments to get TSA pre-check, hoping that will grease the skids a bit. Will also be paying extra for premium air tickets so my 6’4” spouse won’t have to origami himself for four hours on the plane. I’ll have to go through my jacket pockets to make sure there aren’t any loose .22s rolling around (typical), and going through everything else to make sure there aren’t any Deadly Weapons (like 2” Swiss Army knives or nail files) anywhere else. It’s all so tiresome.
Advice from the experienced for fed up flyers is welcome.
We fly international often to see family in Europe.
The real trick is to pack for ready access with your carry on, not for maximum storage capacity. I put all the electronics in a single compartment of a backpack meaning I can get them into bins at the security checkpoint easily, and there's nothing else in the compartment that makes putting them away a burden. I love nice luggage, but a backpack works best for this, or a soft shell with exterior compartments.
Just don't even bother trying to convince them your sealed food was just bought right outside security. Bring an empty water bottle and fill it after security.
You can't know if any single checkpoint will be a "shoes and belts" off type of place. Don't wear heavy or metal jewelry. I'm in government buildings a lot, so my watch is even a wood band/case without enough metal to set off the sensors.
Charge stuff ahead of time. Longer flights have plugs/USB ports for every seat, shorter ones might need you to share with someone.
Pack an extra pair of unmentionables/absolute necessities at the bottom of your carry on. Flights do weird things to human bodies, especially as I've aged. I have to have compression socks if it's going to be more than 2 hours.
I think Pre-Check is the way to go. I'd also just select bags that have NEVER been to the range. I don't know how many times I've yanked a magazine or a knife from a bag before heading to the airport. I've also surrendered a number of knives to TSA over the years that somehow hid in the seams and pockets of a carry-on. Sigh...