Security

No boys allowed: Hotels bring back women-only floors

Hotels, Security, , ,

Women-only floors at hotels — an amenity discarded by the hotel industry at the dawn of the feminist movement — may be experiencing a comeback.

You won’t find them everywhere. But, as I discovered in a story for msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin, women-only floors at hotels aren’t as rare as you’d think.

A "Bella Donna" room at Copenhagen's new Bella Sky Comwell hotel

In a focus group study conducted by the 812-room Hotel Bella Sky Comwell in Copenhagen, Denmark, more than half of the “influential and well-traveled Danish women” surveyed said they’d stay on a women-only floor because “it provides a sense of security; it feels more hygienic to know that the previous guest was also a woman and they prefer rooms tailored to women’s needs.”

Armed with that data, the hotel opened in May 2011 with a secure-access floor for ladies only. “Bella Donna” floors cost an additional DKK 300 (about US$55) and offer extra-large showerheads, extra clothes hangers for skirts and dresses and a minibar stocked with items such as smoothies, champagne and high-quality chocolate.

The Naumi Hotel in Singapore, the Premier Hotel in New York City, and Crowne Plaza properties in Washington, D.C. and Bloomington, Minn., are among the hotels that also feature floors strictly for female guests.

For the past two years, the 180-room Georgian Court Hotel in downtown Vancouver, B.C., has been offering the 18 rooms on its Orchid Floor exclusively to woman at no extra charge.

“The rooms are definitely not pink,” said general manager Lisa Jackson. “But women seem to like the additional amenities we offer, such as a flat iron, a curling iron and an emergency kit with nylons and some other amenities they might forget at home.” The rooms also feature upgraded bathroom amenities, a yoga mat, satin-padded hangers and fashion magazines.

“Rooms on the Orchid Floor are often sold-out,” said Jackson, “and now the hotel is considering adding an additional women-only floor.”

“I thought women-only rooms were a trend that came and went,” said Katie Davin, an associate professor and director of hospitality education for Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. “When it first came back around, in the early 2000s, it was more about what hotels thought women wanted — pretty rooms, good hairdryers, things like that. But it sounds like they’ve been talking to women instead of just guessing.”

At the 318-room Hamilton Crowne Plaza in Washington, D.C., one floor has been set aside for women-only for the past five years. While the hotel’s average occupancy is about 80 percent, rooms on the women’s floor are often sold-out. Available Sunday through Thursday, when most business travelers are on the road, rooms on the secure-access floor offer upgraded amenities, bathrobes and slippers and an invitation to join other women for a networking dinner in the hotel restaurant. This year the hotel added complimentary concierge service to guests on the women-only floor as well.

“The market dynamics have changed. Women business travelers are traveling more than ever,” said hotel sales and marketing manager Regina Willson. “And that’s our target.”

Tonya Harris-Hill of Atlanta is right in that target range. On the road regularly for her job as a nurse manager, she’s been a regular at the Crowne Plaza in Bloomington, Minn., for months. As a frequent guest, she often gets upgraded to a suite, but at the suggestion of a co-worker gave the hotel’s secure-access, women-only floor a try.

Harris-Hill said she initially chose the women-only floor, which has a $30 surcharge, because she was new to the area and felt more secure. But now she likes it for the upgraded bath amenities and the gathering area in the hallway with magazines, fresh fruit and flowers and a fridge stocked with complimentary refreshments and snacks such as yogurt, ice cream and chocolate.

“I can put on a bathrobe and go out there and grab a snack and it is fine because you know you won’t run into a guy. And it is kind of pretty,” said Harris-Hill.

Guns, knives & grenades at the airport

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Photo courtesy TSA

Each Friday on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin, I track down an answer to a reader’s question. This week the topic was: guns, knives and grenades at the airport checkpoint.

Throwing knives found in a carry-on at BWI

Should you pack your gun, your grenade or your carving knife in a carry-on bag when you go to the airport?

Definitely not, but apparently a number of people do.

According to a recent post on the Transportation Security Administration’s blog, TSA officers have found more than 800 firearms in carry-on bags this year.

And that number doesn’t include the countless knives that still show up at airport security checkpoints daily — it’s so many that the TSA doesn’t even keep count — or the many inert grenades that passengers try to take home as souvenirs.

Last week, for example, a passenger at the Orlando International Airport showed up with three pistols — a .25-caliber, a .40-caliber semiautomatic and a .357-caliber revolver — in a bag that also contained loose ammunition and a loaded magazine. In Baltimore, the TSA recently found three throwing knives in the carry-on bag of a Mexico-bound traveler. And on Monday, TSA officers at New York’s Albany International Airport discovered a loaded gun in the purse of a woman heading to Detroit.

The two passengers with guns were arrested; the traveler with the knives was cited, and his weapons were confiscated.

It’s unlikely that passengers plan to use their weapons during flight, but it’s difficult to know for sure since people often respond to TSA questioning by saying, “I forgot that it was in my bag.”

Given how frequently illicit weapons are discovered, Overhead Bin asked TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein for advice on the proper way to fly with firearms.

Farbstein said fliers may transport  firearms, ammunition and firearm parts in their checked baggage even though those items are prohibited from carry-on baggage.

“Basically, travelers must declare all firearms, ammunition, and parts to the airline during the ticket counter check-in process,” Farbstein said. “The firearm must be unloaded and it must be in a hard-sided container [and] the container must be locked.”

You can read more about traveling on airplanes with guns, firearms, knives and other weapons on the TSA’s website, but Farbstein adds that “airlines may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition. Therefore, travelers should also contact the airline regarding firearm and ammunition carriage policies.”

Or maybe, just plan to leave your weapons at home.

 

Snow globes on airplanes? TSA says no…

Security, , , ,

Each week on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin blog I get to answer a reader’s question. This week’s topic: snow globes on airplanes.

During a recent trip to Disneyland, Camille Kohler’s 5-year-old daughter searched for the one souvenir she would buy and bring home with her to Anchorage, Alaska. After three days of consideration, she decided on a small snow globe from the popular It’s a Small World ride.

For the flight home, Kohler put the snow globe in her carry-on bag. But the water-filled souvenir never made it past the security checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport.

“To their credit, the TSA agents were trying to keep the confiscation on the down-low so my daughter wouldn’t see they were taking the snow globe,” said Kohler. “They even looked for a way to empty it. But at that point in the day, I didn’t even want to bring it to my girl’s attention, causing a potential melt-down at the security gates.”

Now Kohler wants to know: “Does the TSA have a rule specifically prohibiting snow globes?”

The answer is yes.

“Snow globes of any size are not permitted in carry-on baggage because there is no way for our officers to accurately determine the volume of liquid,” said Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Greg Soule.

If you do want to travel with a souvenir snow globe that, like Kohler’s daughter, you have carefully picked out, the TSA recommends that you put it in your checked luggage or ship it home. Another option is to shop for a souvenir snow globe at a post-security shop in the airport.

Wondering if your vacation souvenir will make it through the security checkpoint? The TSA has a tool on its website to help travelers like Kohler figure out what will and won’t fly. Overhead Bin plugged in “snow globes” and was sent to a “Check only” page that discusses liquids but does not specifically mention snow globes. A holiday-related section of the TSA website, however, does specifically state that snow globes are not permitted in carry-on bags.

And don’t worry too much about that lost It’s a Small World souvenir. Like all Disney movies, this tale has a storybook ending: “I’m happy to report that I was able to find a replacement snow globe on the Disney web site,” said Kohler.

One bag? Use the express lane at PIT airport

Baggage, Carry-ons, Security, , , ,

Supermarkets have them, so why not airports?

(From my story on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin)

Air travelers trying to avoid checked luggage fees by taking along extra – or extra large – carry-on bags often clog up the works at security checkpoints.

But passengers flying out of Pittsburgh International Airport now have incentive to pack light and check those bags.

As of Tuesday, September 13, 2001, travelers with just one carry-on item are able to breeze through the airport’s new Express Security Lane, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.

“Traffic has been increasing at our airport, and the checkpoint lines have been getting longer. This could pull up to 25 percent of the people out of the longer line and improve everyone’s experience,” said Bradley Penrod, executive director/CEO for the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

The express line received approval from the Transportation Security Administration and will be staffed by security officers who will send passengers with both a carry-on bag and another item, such as a computer bag or purse, to one of the other, non-express, checkpoint lines. Jackets will be allowed, but not carry-ons larger than 22″ by 14″ by 9″.

“The program at Pittsburgh International Airport is one example of TSA partnering with airports to improve the passenger experience, while providing world-class security,” said TSA spokesperson Greg Soule.

Frequent flier and registered traveler programs already promise some travelers a quicker path to the secure side of many of the nation’s more than 450 commercial airports, but Pittsburgh airport officials believe they’ve come up with a novel, universally accessible idea.

“Even TSA couldn’t confirm we were the first airport to do this,” said Penrod. “But we expect if it works here, other airports will start offering express lanes as well.”

How 9/11 changed the airport experience

9/11, Air Travel, Airplanes, Airport guides, Airports, free Wi-Fi, Safety, Security, , ,

 

As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy rolls around, many travelers are thinking back to where they were that day and what they were doing as the horrific details began to emerge. Some are recounting their blessings, remembering how close they came to being part of the carnage.

Count me among them.

In the summer of 2001, I was on the road promoting my guide book, Stuck at the Airport, which detailed services and amenities at the many of the nation’s airports. (Modern versions of those guides are now online at USATODAY.com) Airport shops offering massages or manicures were a rare find back then; an airport with a website was even rarer.

I got a call from a woman at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the operator of LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports. She invited me to visit her office at the World Trade Center and chat with her staff about how airports could be more welcoming. “We can’t pay you to come out here from Seattle,” she said, “But if you’re in town anyway and can come by, we’ll take you out for a nice meal.”

That seemed like a good excuse to visit family back east. So we picked a date: September 12. My thank-you meal would be at Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the North Tower.

Then and now

Since then, as you well know, pretty much everything about the airport experience has changed.

Before 9/11, my airport review ritual went like this: I’d fly into an airport, stash my belongings in a gate-side locker (remember those?), and spend several hours walking from concourse to concourse, terminal to terminal, asking questions, taking pictures and making detailed notes.

On a cheap weekend fare I’d often fly in and out of an airport (or two) on the same day, taking advantage of the long layovers other travelers despise.

I visited more than 100 airports this way, many of them multiple times, and only once – in July, 1999 in Memphis – was I ever stopped by someone from airport security and questioned about what I was doing.

More often than not, it was other travelers who noticed my note-taking and assumed I worked for the airport. They’d stop me to ask for directions and tips on where to shop or find something to eat.

I not only took notes about what was offered inside airports, I made note of what people did in the airports.

Read. Sleep. Chat. Try to get some work done. Eat. Drink. Talk on the telephone. The same as now, but without all the cell phones, laptops and searching around for an electrical outlet.

Back then there were a lot of small children squealing “There’s daddy!” as tired-looking businessmen streamed off planes. And plenty of grandmas and grandpas rushing to plant wet kisses on squirmy babies they may have been meeting for the first time. There were waves of teary goodbyes and joyous reunions at the gates. And thinking back now, I realize the last time I saw my father smile at me before his final illness was at an airport, while we chatted as I waited to board a delayed flight.

Now it’s all grumbling about the Wi-Fi signal and jostling for a good spot so you can board the plane first and find a place to stash your carry-on bag. No last minute kisses, hugs and good wishes as the door to the jet way is about to close. No waves and tears at the window as a plane backs away.

I miss that.

But, setting aside for a moment the long lines, x-ray machines, body scanners and icky, intrusive pat-downs we must now endure at the security checkpoints, the post 9/11 world of airports has some upsides.

Recognizing that passengers were spending lots more time inside airports – and needing to diversify income sources once cash-strapped airlines began balking at footing the bills – airports began bulking up on services and amenities in the terminals.

Now, kiosks offering manicures and massages are no longer rare sightings at airports. Many terminals have wine bars, sports bars and fine restaurants where you can settle in and really relax. The selection of shops at some airports now rivals those offered at neighborhood malls and, with medical clinics, hair salons, pharmacies, convenience stores, play areas, art galleries and – hooray – free Wi-Fi, popping up along many airport concourses, it’s getting easier and easier to get distracted and miss a flight.

I’ve done that; more than twice.

But, as pleasant as it may be to have fun while being stuck at the airport, the sobering reality is that some of these amenities were ushered along in response to tragedy. And while I’m all for safety and security in the skies, I’m still mourning the loss of that one airport amenity that allowed for a last hug from a loved one before stepping onto a plane.

What pre-9/11 airport experience are you missing?

(This article originally appeared on USATODAY.com as my September, 2011 At the Airport column.)


What’s up with airport pat-downs?

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Bing Travel wanted to know what’s up with airport pat-downs. Here’s what I found out for an article posted earlier this week.

What’s up with airport pat-downs?

News stories about airport security checks involving small children undergoing full pat downs, an elderly woman’s adult diaper being inspected and, most recently, some women of color having their natural hairdos scrutinized may have you wondering what you’ll encounter at the airport as you head back to school or work after summer vacation.

At most airports, it will be business as what has become usual: shoes off; laptops, liquids and IDs out; pockets emptied; a walk through a metal detector or scanner; and, if something’s amiss, arms stretched wide for an enhanced pat down.

While the modern-day pat down might make both the passenger and the Transportation Security Administration officer conducting the procedure uncomfortable, “At the end of the day, the comfort I am concerned with is the comfort of knowing I can turn on the evening news and find that no aircraft was compromised or went down because I did my job effectively,” said Valyria Lewis, a TSA officer at Memphis International Airport who is president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 555, covering Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.

But the airport checkpoint experience is ever-evolving. Now a new set of changes is making its way through the system.

The TSA is testing programs at a few airports, installing new technology at few dozen airports and implementing new policies systemwide that might streamline the experience for some travelers and make it more or less of a hassle for others. Here is some of what’s in store:

Getting to know you

It’s still a bit surprising, but usually refreshing, when a TSA officer checking IDs breaks the “Just show me your papers” demeanor to ask a question about your day or to share a tidbit from theirs. The seconds-long pleasantry may be just that, but engaging you and drawing you out may also be part of what the TSA calls its “ongoing risk-based, multilayered security strategy.”

Right now, as part of that strategy, the TSA is testing an expanded behavior-detection pilot program at Boston’s Logan International Airport. If your Boston-originating flight takes you through the security checkpoint at Terminal A, you’ll be part of the test automatically. In what the TSA calls “casual greeting conversations” and others have dubbed “chat downs,” specially trained behavior-detection officers are asking each passenger a few extra questions as they go through the ID check.

They’re not all that interested in your answers, but in your behavior.

The TSA says some passengers may get selected for a longer, but “still limited” chat and that the results of this test will determine if the program spreads to other airports.

Kid-friendly checkpoints

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein says a pilot program to test new screening procedures for children 12 and younger is under way at six airports: Boston; Atlanta; Miami; Orlando, Fla.; Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport; and Denver.

Why those airports? “The pilot sites were selected based on airports that had a higher volume of travelers in the desired age range to allow for a better overall sample during testing,” Farbstein said.

What will change?

Until now, children or adults who triggered an alarm at a screening machine were subject to a pat down. Under the new kid-friendlier screening procedure, children will be allowed to go back through the metal detector or the advanced imaging technology machine for “do-overs” to clear an alarm. Also, kids will be allowed to leave their shoes on.

The TSA still can require kids to remove their shoes or undergo a pat down if something seems amiss, but if the test works out, the program will spread to other airports.

Modest scanners

In a move to return modesty to passengers, the TSA is installing new, less-invasive software on the millimeter wave Advanced Imaging Technology machines — the so-called “naked scanners” — at 40 airports.

Instead of creating revealing, passenger-specific images, the machines will now produce a generic outline of a person while still showing if any items are concealed under clothing. If something shows up on the scanner, passengers would undergo an extra pat down on the specific area in question, for example, their wrist.

TSA officials say that upgraded software is already in place in Las Vegas; Atlanta; Baltimore; Tampa, Fla.; and many other airports. There are 241 machines with this software being installed throughout the U.S.; all are expected to be in place by fall.

Trusted traveler program

The TSA is scheduled to roll out yet one more test program this fall. This one is an identity-based, preflight screening program that may lead to a widespread “trusted traveler” program that could expedite the checkpoint experience for those willing to share some additional information about themselves with the government.

Participants in the first phase of the test will include several airports and a select group of passengers.

The pool of participants will include some travelers who already are part of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Trusted Traveler programs such as Global Entry, Sentri and Nexus. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airports, the test will include some members of Delta Air Lines’ frequent-flier program. At Miami International and Dallas/Fort Worth International airports, the test will include some frequent fliers from American Airlines.

If the program works out, the TSA plans to include other airports and other airlines, including United, Southwest, JetBlue, US Airways, Alaska and Hawaiian.

Will this make a difference?

You might or might not experience one of the new programs in your next trip to the airport, but the bottom line for the TSA remains catching “bad guys” and finding objects or materials that might be used to take down a plane.

So, security-wise, will these new programs make a difference?

“It can be hard to tell,” said Jeff Price, an aviation security expert and associate professor at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. “The TSA doesn’t release statistics on what it catches. But the [Government Accountability Office] will likely do a report at some point, and the public portion of that should give us a pretty good idea.”

Finding water at the airport

Air Travel, Food, Security, , , ,

Each Friday I have the great pleasure of answering travel questions sent in by readers to msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin blog.

This week the question was about water at the airport.

When Heather Snodgrass flies she likes to stay well-hydrated. But she’d rather not add to landfills by buying bottled water at the airport. “I usually see water fountains, but prefer to have a supply of water with me rather than take multiple trips back to a fountain.”

So in preparation for her next trip, Snodgrass asked Overhead Bin: “Can you travel with an empty bottle, such as sports top bottle, and refill it at water fountains past the TSA checkpoints? I want to avoid losing a great water bottle.”

The short answer is yes.

In fact, many airports around the country are actively encouraging travelers to bring their own empty water bottles along, in part because it’s time-consuming and expensive to cart away all those full or half-full bottles, cans and cups that passengers discard at the security checkpoints.

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and a growing number of other airports around the country are installing beverage collection stations at the checkpoints to try to cut down on what gets carted off to landfills. “Travelers can pour beverages into the drains and keep the bottles,” said Steve Johnson of Oregon’s Portland International Airport.

For travelers like Snodgrass, who want to make sure they can find a place to fill a water bottle post-security, airports such as San Francisco International Airport and Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare airports are also installing special water bottle refill stations.

SFO has four “hydration stations,” and Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare airports each have two. (The Midway stations are at the entrance to concourses A and B; at O’Hare they are in Terminal 2.) The hands-free, sensor-activated stations at O’Hare also have counters that have been tallying the number of 16-ounce bottles diverted from landfills.

“Together, the two stations at O’Hare have saved 220,717 bottles,” since their installation in June and July 2010, said Gregg Cunningham of the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Advertising & airport checkpoint bins

Advertising, Air Travel, Airports, Security, ,

For my At the Airport column on USATODAY.com this month, I took a look at a program that puts advertising inside the airport checkpoint bins at more than two dozen airports – and how that just may help airports – and the TSA – make the checkpoint experience just a tiny bit better.

Next time you’re inching your way through the line at airport security checkpoint, take a look around.

Do the plastic bins where people plop their laptops, carry-on bags and slip-off shoes look worn and industrial gray or do they look crisp, white and new?

At the majority of the more than 400 U.S. airports, the checkpoints are stocked with those generic, government-issued gray bins. They’re boring, yes, but they do what the TSA needs them to do: they contain your stuff as it sits on the belt that passes through the x-ray machine.

But the checkpoints at more than two dozen airports have those crisp, white bins. In those airports the bins do not only what the TSA needs them to do, they also save the TSA time and money. And because there are advertisements inside these bins, they generate income for the airports.

Not bad for a bunch of recyclable plastic.

Post-9/11 need

The advertisement-bearing bins are the brainchild of Joe Ambrefe, CEO of Security Point Media (SPM) who came up with the idea not long after 9/11, while standing in a long line at an airport security checkpoint.

He realized everyone had to grab a bin and that an advertisement inside each bin was a sure-fire way for a company to reach the desirable demographic of business and leisure travelers.

Ambrefe worked up a plan to provide free bins (and carts to move those bins around) in exchange for the right to sell advertisements on the bins. He chose white bins because “color is an emotive issue and white is a happier color than industrial gray.” He also promised to replace the bins every 90 days with brand new units so that “the components are opening day fresh all the time.”

Testing began in 2007 and now the Bin Advertising Program is in operation Orlando, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, JFK, LaGuardia and 21 other airports nationwide and is approved by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for all airports.

The TSA likes the program because it saves the agency money: the free bins represent an overall savings of between $200,000 and $700,000 on the costs of replacing bins. And TSA spokesperson Greg Soule said the program also “reduced injuries associated with lifting bins and improved durability and aesthetics of the checkpoint equipment.”

Airports like the program because it’s generates a bit of extra money and helps improve the checkpoint experience for passengers.

At Los Angeles International Airport, one of the program’s first test sites, spokesperson Nancy Castles says ad revenues helped purchase “the long tables, seating, floor mats, wheeled bin carriers, stanchions, and other equipment that helps streamline the TSA passenger security screening process.” The airport also gets to place its own advertising in some of the bins and is currently promoting its LAX FlyAway bus service.

At Nashville International, an early test airport which officially signed up with the program in 2010, spokesperson Emily Richard said, “We have experienced significant and consistent improvement of the appearance of the checkpoint since SPM started managing the process.” She added that year-to-date income from the program is $7,500.

And in Houston, where the Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental airports joined the program in June, Houston Airport System’s concessions manager Randy Goodman described the benefits as “bright new bins and a streamlined process,” and a share of the advertising income that’s should net the airport about $26,000 for the first six months.”

Even better bins?

Ambrefe hopes to expand the bin advertising program to other airports and continues to tweak the system. He said that while the company has not considered providing separate bins for shoes –a suggestion put forth by some groups concerned about checkpoint health risks – “antimicrobial products for use at the checkpoints are in research.”

In the meantime, both Ambrefe and the TSA might make note of the checkpoint procedures in place at Canada’s Prince Rupert Airport, in northern British Columbia. The airport has color-coded bins for boots and shoes and, for the past 18 years, the security team has cleaned all the bins after each of the six daily flights.

“It’s nice to know that when you lay down your suit jacket or coat that the bin has not previously contained any dirty boots or other contaminated item,” said airport manager Richard Reed.

“The bins are cleaned to protect the health of the screening agents and the traveling public,” said team leader Virginia Toro. “We treat the checkpoint as we do our home: clean is the rule of the day.”

Here are the 26 airports currently in the TSA-approved Bin Advertising Program
Source: TSA

1. Jacksonville International Airport, Jacksonville, Florida
2. John Wayne-Orange County Airport, Santa Ana, California
3. Lafayette Regional Airport, Lafayette, Louisiana
4. Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California
5. Lovell Field Airport, Chattanooga, Tennessee
6. McGhee Tyson Airport, Knoxville, Tennessee
7. Nashville International Airport, Nashville, Tennessee
8. Ontario International Airport, Ontario, California
9. Reno/Tahoe International Airport, Reno, Nevada
10. Richmond International Airport, Richmond, Virginia
11. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Washington
12. Tulsa International Airport, Tulsa, Oklahoma
13. Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, Wichita, Kansas
14. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina
15. Denver International Airport, Denver, Colorado
16. Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey
17. John F. Kennedy International Airport, Queens, New York
18. LaGuardia Airport, Queens, New York
19. Orlando International Airport, Orland, Florida
20. Chicago Midway International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
21. Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
22. San Diego International Airport, San Diego, CA
23. McGhee Tyson Airport, Louisville, Tennessee
24. Houston Intercontinental
25. Houston Hobby
26. Miami International Airport

A Montana airport’s fun checkpoint video

Air Travel, Fun Stuff, Security, , ,

Next time you’re standing in line at an airport security checkpoint, look around to see if there’s a instructional video running to tell passengers how to prepare for the screening process.  If there is a video being shown, chances are it will be a yawner.

But as I discovered for this story on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin, there are ways to share this information that are lot more fun:

Cindi Martin was tired of seeing long lines at the security checkpoint at Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell, Mont. And even though she’s the airport director, Martin felt her hands were tied. “I cannot tell TSA officers to work faster or change protocol to help streamline the process,” she said.

What she could do was change things outside the checkpoint. So she asked a popular local band that often performs parodies to put together a peppier version of the rather dry Transportation Security Administration video now shown to passengers at the checkpoint.

“We took the TSA video home. And, oh my gosh, it is the most boring sort of government video we’re all used to seeing,” said Steve Riddle, who performs with Nick Terhaar and Greg Devlin as the Singing Sons of Beaches.

The band began working on a song that included all the information in the TSA video. “Things like knives, liquids, scissors, belts and shoes off, etc.,” said Riddle. “We used it all. And we made it rhyme.”

And they made it funny, with a catchy beat.

Dressed in shorts and flowered shirts, band members sing instructions (“No guns or knives or pepper spray, no sharp pointy scissors on the flight today”) and are shown trying to take a shotgun, a six-shooter, a meat cleaver, a giant pair of clippers, a cartoon-style bomb and other forbidden items through the checkpoint. A TSA officer – a real one who was standing by when the airport terminal closed for filming – has a cameo as a finger-wagging screener.

“We are aware of this local video created by the airport and approve of the travel tips provided to prepare passengers for screening,” said TSA spokesperson Greg Soule.

The video now plays on a continuous loop at the airport, along with the original TSA video.

“I’m getting calls from people who are driving out to the airport, paying to park and going in just to watch the video,” said Riddle.

Glacier Park International Airport may have the most danceable checkpoint video, but it’s not the first to offer travelers something a bit different to look at.

In 2004 and 2005, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas worked with local partners to create a 13-part TSA-approved, pre-checkpoint video series that features Las Vegas performers offering checkpoint tips. Included in the series are Wayne Newton, Rita Rudner, Carrot Top, the Blue Man Group, an Elvis impersonator, clowns from Cirque du Soleil, and Wolfgang Puck. You can watch those videos here.

How to avoid an airport security pat-down

Air Travel, Security, ,

 

Each week on msnbc.com’s new Overhead Bin I get to answer a reader’s question. I’m still pondering why one reader wanted to know how much cash is too much cash to travel with, but this week I tackled a classic: how to avoid an airport security pat-down.

Don and Kris Rasmussen of Weston, Wis. have two trips planned for the fall. But they’re starting now to fret about what will happen at the airport security checkpoint.

“We are just plain folks and are very uncomfortable with this ‘body feeling’ and X-ray business. Will we be groped? Is there any way we can get past this? It seems so degrading.”

With news stories about diapered seniors, young children and even former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld getting singled out by the Transportation Security Administration for additional screening, it’s no wonder the Rasmussens are worried.

But according to the TSA, “Less than 3 percent of passengers experience a pat-down.” The majority result from passengers alarming either the metal detector or the full-body scanner.

There’s no guaranteed method for avoiding a pat-down, but there are steps passengers can take to minimize their odds of being singled out.

“Passengers who are prepared for screening and do not alarm for prohibited items are less likely to require additional screening,” said TSA spokesperson Greg Soule.

Every travel expert and road warrior that Overhead Bin consulted agreed with the TSA on this one.

“I can’t say that I know of any tips other than what TSA says about taking everything out of your pockets, including your wallet,” said travel consultant Chris McGinnis.

“Remove any jewelry, spare change, belts or other metal objects that could set off the metal detector before you go through security,” suggests Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel.com.

Roz Schatman, an international business development manager, makes sure to wear a tight-fitted shirt to the airport “so there’s no doubt that only my body is inside.”

“The more it seems like you have your act together, the less likely you’ll stick out and potentially be pulled aside,” said Beth Whitman, founder of WanderlustAndLipstick.com and the author of the Wanderlust and Lipstick guides for women travelers.

“Complaining loudly about it or audibly questioning the competence of the TSA workers is a good way to get pulled aside for a more invasive search,” said Jennifer Miner, a mom who’s the co-creator and writer of the Vacation Gals blog. “Keep your opinions to yourself until you’re at least past the security checkpoint.”

Sometimes, there’s just no avoiding the pat down. Tom Stuker, the frequent-flyer recently in the news for flying his 10 millionth butt-in-seat mile, said “TSA does some random screening. So even if you never set the machines off you may be subject to a pat-down. It has happened to me.”

Finally, no matter how often you travel, it’s a good idea to review the TSA’s guide: How to get through the line faster. That way you won’t end up like the passenger recently pulled aside and arrested at the Baltimore airport for trying to take 13 knives through the security checkpoint.