flying out of vegas

[pukingmonkey]

Om Monday morning, after making the firearms declaration in Vegas, the ticket agent inspected it asked me to lock it up and just puts the case on the belt. She said just wait 10 minutes before going to the gate, if they need they key they'll come out. waited about 12 and then went to the gate, once there they paged me back to the ticket agent. The elapsed time from belt to page was 25 minutes. And they needed the key. The Continental airlines ticket supervisor is the one who took it to TSA and she said she would wait while it was being inspected. She brought it back about 15 minutes later and apologized that TSA delayed needing the key and suggested I should for next time to get a TSA approved lock (yea right). This all happened behind closed "authorized personnel only" doors, so I don't know what happened. But all was in order when I arrived home. If the flight wasn't delayed by 45 minutes I would not have been able to have done the go to the gate (tram ride) and back through gate security twice. Anyone else have similar experience like this leaving from LAS? Going to Vegas from Newark was a breeze and they didn't even need the key at all.

[noid]

Re: flying out of vegas

As I understand it, the key is not supposed to be out of your possession or line of sight. Another case of The TSA not understanding the law or their jobs.

[pukingmonkey]

Re: flying out of vegas

Oh, forgot to mention that TSA has taken the destination tag off the case (maybe to make sure it didn't go anywhere?) and it was up front with the ticket supervisor when I got back there. She took both back. When I picked up the case it was stapled back on.

[Modafinil]

Re: flying out of vegas

. Anyone else have similar experience like this leaving from LAS? Going to Vegas from Newark was a breeze and they didn't even need the key at all.

I had great experiences both directions, although leaving LAS was even easier. At SFO the airline called the TSA agent for inspection who was entirely unfamiliar with firearms. True to everything Deviant has said, they made every effort to avoid touching my pretty black toys, searched around them, and then placed the cheesy orange "TSA Inspected" dot on the airline baggage tag.

Flying out of LAS, the airline placed the firearm declaration in the case and then put it into the baggage belt - no TSA inspection of any kind. I did end up with another bag inspected by the TSA since it contained all my remaining ammo (inside a steel ammo box).

Does anyone know if I can put ammo for a different weapon inside of the firearm case? i.e. 9mm ammo sits with the .45 steel; .45 ammo sits with the 9mm steel?

[wrøng!]

Re: flying out of vegas

Check out Deviant's response to the thread by "b1z" talking about the same issue. That was from an incident our group had on the way out to DC19.

[seeess]

Re: flying out of vegas

Does anyone know if I can put ammo for a different weapon inside of the firearm case? i.e. 9mm ammo sits with the .45 steel; .45 ammo sits with the 9mm steel?

I have done this, and had ammo in a second case without firearms without issue. the airline policy i fly does not even state that ammo has to be locked (i think, i'd have to check again). One time a agent brought that up to me but after i pulled out the policy he backed down.

Flying out of LAS the tsa took my keys and looked at the desert eagle behind closed doors. They didnt seem to have a problem with the machine gun though.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: flying out of vegas

it seems that the TSA (on their web site, etc) has re-worded the policy a few times, due to many gun folk giving them a hard time about surrendering a key.

at one point, they added a statement to the effect of "while the passenger should always retain control of their key or combination, we do recommend that you allow the TSA to use your key if a manual screening is necessary"

they now state that the gun-owning passenger "must provide the key or combination to the screener if it is necessary to open the container, and then remain present during screening to take back possession of the key after the container is cleared."

that still gives the impression that you should always be right there if they have to open your firearm-laden bag, but in practice this isn't always what happens.

personally, if i am ever asked for the key, i make certain to only hand it over to a TSA person (never an airline staffer) and i note down their full name, etc. if i'm not pressed for time (usually i arrive very early) i ask to speak with a supervisor first, and note their name, as well. (i also ask why my baggage alerted in a CTX machine, since there is nothing suspicious in there and you can clearly see through everything)

so, yeah... they have changed the rules a bit because of folk like us giving them difficulty.

on the plus side, they do specifically state that magazines are a suitable way of transporting ammunition, as long as it is fully covered up by inserting the mag into a holster or other container.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: flying out of vegas

for what it's worth, my departure from Las Vegas involved the counter check-in staffer accepting my one bag that had no firearms (a misc. case of TOOOL shirts, etc) and then having me open up all of the other three suitcases (Pelican cases, really) to demonstrate to her that the firearms were unloaded.

We placed the little orange tags in those three cases and i loaded them onto a separate luggage belt, fully-locked.

The woman then told me i was free to go, but i demurred and insisted on waiting there until we had positive confirmation from the TSA that things were all clear. A few minutes later, she stuck her head in back (i couldn't see the screening area) and then told me "ok, they say you're all set."

No call backs at the gate, etc etc. All four bags made it to Philly on time and in the same condition. #winning

[seeess]

Re: flying out of vegas

All four bags made it to Philly on time and in the same condition. #winning

Did they dump your bags onto the public carousel there? I still don't understand why some airports do that and others don't. At LAS one of my cases they dumped on the carousel, but the more obvious one they brought up to the counter.

I hope i never miss a connection and arrive at my destination late to have someone take my bags.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: flying out of vegas

Did they dump your bags onto the public carousel there? I still don't understand why some airports do that and others don't. At LAS one of my cases they dumped on the carousel, but the more obvious one they brought up to the counter.

I hope i never miss a connection and arrive at my destination late to have someone take my bags.

at PHL they always dump out on the regular carousel... even my Pelican 1750 which is truly designated as "oversize"

LAS (and many airports with a large military presence nearby and/or problems with seedy folk trying to swipe valuable bags) have evolved policies to better protect firearms. that said, i never really mind how my bag arrives, as long as it does so on time and unmolested.