Flying with guns on Continental

[hirundo82]

I'm flying out of Bush Intercontinental (IAH) tomorrow on Continental, headed back to Virginia to visit my parents for a couple weeks. As Texas and Virginia have reciprocity, I'll be taking my sidearm with me. Actually, I'm taking 3 pistols with me since my brothers and I are planning on going shooting while I'm home.

I've read the big thread on flying with guns, but was wondering if anyone has any specific experiences with Continental. I have flown a couple times before with guns, but this is my first time with Continental. Is there anything specific to their process that I should be aware of?

My plan is to put my pistols inside a Pelican case, padlock the case, and then put that inside the duffel bag I am taking with me. I also will be taking a couple boxes of SD ammo, which is in the factory packaging. Anybody see any problems with this plan?

[stevie_d_64]

Nope, good luck...Have a fantastic trip home!

Let us know how the IAH/TSA/Continental folks treat you...

And Merry Christmas to you!

[yerasimos]

I'm flying out of Bush Intercontinental (IAH) tomorrow on Continental, headed back to Virginia to visit my parents for a couple weeks. As Texas and Virginia have reciprocity, I'll be taking my sidearm with me. Actually, I'm taking 3 pistols with me since my brothers and I are planning on going shooting while I'm home.

I've read the big thread on flying with guns, but was wondering if anyone has any specific experiences with Continental. I have flown a couple times before with guns, but this is my first time with Continental. Is there anything specific to their process that I should be aware of?

My plan is to put my pistols inside a Pelican case, padlock the case, and then put that inside the duffel bag I am taking with me. I also will be taking a couple boxes of SD ammo, which is in the factory packaging. Anybody see any problems with this plan?

Looks good to me. What you described seems to conform to Continental's policy as posted on their website. You might wish to print out that policy, as well as TSA's policy, in case you encounter someone who is not well-informed and tries to create problems where there should not be any.

I hope you do not have to change planes in EWR (Newark, NJ), because if you happen to get stuck there they might cause some real problems for you if you try to recheck the firearms/ammunition there. (In that case you might be better off driving out of New Jersey and springing for a one-way ticket that originates in Pennsylvania.) I remember someone mentioning that the Port Authority of NY/NJ seems to have backed off since the Gregg Revell lawsuit, though I would not count on this.

[hirundo82]

I hope you do not have to change planes in EWR (Newark, NJ), because if you happen to get stuck there they might cause some real problems for you if you try to recheck the firearms/ammunition there. (In that case you might be better off driving out of New Jersey and springing for a one-way ticket that originates in Pennsylvania.) I remember someone mentioning that the Port Authority of NY/NJ seems to have backed off since the Gregg Revell lawsuit, though I would not count on this.

No, thankfully I have a direct flight both ways, from Bush Intercontinental to Washington Dulles International (which, despite the name, is in Virginia so I do not need to worry about the draconian anti-gun laws in DC).

[stevie_d_64]

I hope you do not have to change planes in EWR (Newark, NJ), because if you happen to get stuck there they might cause some real problems for you if you try to recheck the firearms/ammunition there. (In that case you might be better off driving out of New Jersey and springing for a one-way ticket that originates in Pennsylvania.) I remember someone mentioning that the Port Authority of NY/NJ seems to have backed off since the Gregg Revell lawsuit, though I would not count on this.

No, thankfully I have a direct flight both ways, from Bush Intercontinental to Washington Dulles International (which, despite the name, is in Virginia so I do not need to worry about the draconian anti-gun laws in DC).

I think you have snatched the pebble out of our hand...

You are in the zone...

You got more game than Parker Brothers!

Swing back in here and let us know how it all goes...

[Chris]

make sure you declare it to the ticket person, and MAKE SURE they give you the orange tag. i told the ticket agent, and she forgot to give me the tag, and told me to go see the TSA people. i got to the TSA clown and told him i had a firearm, and was told to see him. he asked where my tag was, and i told him the ticket lady didn't give me one. he ran over there and jumped all over her, then came and told me he would have "called the law" on me if he'd found it. i told the genius that's why i told him i had it, and i informed him that "i am the law."

i have no respect for TSA.

[Skipper5]

make sure you declare it to the ticket person, and MAKE SURE they give you the orange tag. i told the ticket agent, and she forgot to give me the tag, and told me to go see the TSA people. i got to the TSA clown and told him i had a firearm, and was told to see him. he asked where my tag was, and i told him the ticket lady didn't give me one. he ran over there and jumped all over her, then came and told me he would have "called the law" on me if he'd found it. i told the genius that's why i told him i had it, and i informed him that "i am the law."

i have no respect for TSA.

Ha...jez Chris ....does make you wonder....and you are actually a LEO, correct?? This so from previous posts...
LOL ...lordy! Remind anyone of "Who's On First?"

[cyphur]

i have no respect for TSA.

I'm sorry to hear that. There are a lot of excellent individuals that work for them, whom I've met personally, that make a lot of sacrifices. Both of my parents included.

In my eyes, you saying that because you've encountered a few stupid, ignorant, or disrespectful TSA line employees is the equivalent to me saying I have no respect for any LEO's because I've been pulled over by a couple shmucks on power trips over the years. A bit of an unfair overgeneralization, no?

[hirundo82]

So I made it home safely, with no problems whatsoever at IAH.

It was the first day of work for the ticket agent that I had, so she had to go get another agent to find out their procedure. She had to walk me over to the TSA area where they scanned my bag, then the TSA agent had me open the case where I had the pistols and show him that the chambers of all of them were empty. I was the only one who handled the guns. I also had to show him the ammo in the factory boxes I had.

Everyone handled everything very well. I was especially impressed with the way TSA handled it, following the rules exactly. The TSA agent I dealt with even complimented one of my guns, a Springfield Loaded stainless 1911 that I acquired a couple of months ago.

No problems on the other end either; my bag was actually the third off the plane. I rearmed in the car before heading home (my father picked me up at Dulles). Overall a good trip.

[Chris]

i have no respect for TSA.

I'm sorry to hear that. There are a lot of excellent individuals that work for them, whom I've met personally, that make a lot of sacrifices. Both of my parents included.

In my eyes, you saying that because you've encountered a few stupid, ignorant, or disrespectful TSA line employees is the equivalent to me saying I have no respect for any LEO's because I've been pulled over by a couple shmucks on power trips over the years. A bit of an unfair overgeneralization, no?

i haven't found one yet. every airport i've been through is the same story. inform that you have a weapon, and they make a big fuss about it. nevermind that i boarded a plane with a speed strip full of bullets in my pocket, and the guy ran my jacket through the machine twice, but his colleagues got very anxious before that when i told them there was a locked up and unloaded firearm in my luggage. i didn't find the speed strip until AFTER i got off the plane and in the hotel.

i don't know if it's a lack of training, or what, but i haven't met any TSA person that took the transportation of a firearm as anything but that. i don't think yelling, "hey bill, we've got a firearm in this one" across the terminal is very professional.

if i'm overgeneralizing, then my overgeneralization is evidenced by the lack of professionalism/training that i have encountered in my dealings with every TSA person i've had the displeasure of meeting up to this point. if you said every cop you've run into is a jerk so they are all jerks, well, i realize that all of your experiences might fall in line with that. i know a lot of jerk/idiot cops who should never be allowed to carry a squirt gun.

[cyphur]

I can respect your opinion, and your experiences seem to justify your attitude.

Yet, as was my original point, there is a difference between having no respect for all TSA employees in general, and the unprofessional individuals you have encountered. There ARE plenty of good employees in TSA, hopefully your future travels will introduce you to some of them.

[jimlongley]

i have no respect for TSA.

I'm sorry to hear that. There are a lot of excellent individuals that work for them, whom I've met personally, that make a lot of sacrifices. Both of my parents included.

In my eyes, you saying that because you've encountered a few stupid, ignorant, or disrespectful TSA line employees is the equivalent to me saying I have no respect for any LEO's because I've been pulled over by a couple shmucks on power trips over the years. A bit of an unfair overgeneralization, no?

i haven't found one yet. every airport i've been through is the same story. inform that you have a weapon, and they make a big fuss about it. nevermind that i boarded a plane with a speed strip full of bullets in my pocket, and the guy ran my jacket through the machine twice, but his colleagues got very anxious before that when i told them there was a locked up and unloaded firearm in my luggage. i didn't find the speed strip until AFTER i got off the plane and in the hotel.

i don't know if it's a lack of training, or what, but i haven't met any TSA person that took the transportation of a firearm as anything but that. i don't think yelling, "hey bill, we've got a firearm in this one" across the terminal is very professional.

if i'm overgeneralizing, then my overgeneralization is evidenced by the lack of professionalism/training that i have encountered in my dealings with every TSA person i've had the displeasure of meeting up to this point. if you said every cop you've run into is a jerk so they are all jerks, well, i realize that all of your experiences might fall in line with that. i know a lot of jerk/idiot cops who should never be allowed to carry a squirt gun.

I'm kind of sorry you didn't come through my airport when I was on during the three years I was stuck in TSA.

We never yelled about firearms in bags. We frequently discussed the firearms with the owners, including the machine gun that came through on the way to Knob Creek. We did, often, have little challenge sessions when we tried to identify the type/model/make of a particular firearm while looking at the x-ray (of course this was on baggage side, not passenger) and I take pride in the fact that I was more often right than wrong and more than the others.

I am a telecom engineer who was cast into the TSA role by the fell clutch of circumstance and I spent a lot of my time trying to be as professional as I could and observed much the same of most of the people I dealt with, while others made disparaging remarks about us, often to our faces, like we were "the scrapings off the bottom of the barrel." (That really was said.)

Maybe it was the Love Field atmosphere that made us better than those you seem to have had universal experiences with, OTOH I spent the first nine months of this year travelling constantly, and frequently taking my guns with me, and never had the kiind of experience you describe.

Yes, I did go through San Antonio (while I was still a TSA employee) and observed my firearm being mishandled - and I filed a formal complaint about it - did you bother to file complaints about your treatment, and if not, how do you expect to change the system?

Now I can't speak for the quality of TSA today, after all, I left in January, and I know lots of others have moved on to more gainful employment, so maybe quality is suffering, but I really doubt it - I have a feeling it is actually more a self fulfilling prophecy than anything else. I think that the majority of the people who claim to have had a bad experience with TSA merely did so because they expected to and were not willing to take anything else as a result.

I have had bad experiences with TSA, the above gun incident was one, and someone tried to pry open a piece of electronics in my bag and destroyed it, but by far the worst experiences I had were as an employee, and I can't even tell you about most of those. I filed formal complaints about those incidents.

I have also observed how many people travel every day without having bad experiences and must conclude that the small minority who claim a bad experience may just be those looking for excuses to complain under any circumstance.

[stevie_d_64]

Jim,

I think it was the Love Field atmosphere...

[stevie_d_64]

So I made it home safely, with no problems whatsoever at IAH.

It was the first day of work for the ticket agent that I had, so she had to go get another agent to find out their procedure. She had to walk me over to the TSA area where they scanned my bag, then the TSA agent had me open the case where I had the pistols and show him that the chambers of all of them were empty. I was the only one who handled the guns. I also had to show him the ammo in the factory boxes I had.

Everyone handled everything very well. I was especially impressed with the way TSA handled it, following the rules exactly. The TSA agent I dealt with even complimented one of my guns, a Springfield Loaded stainless 1911 that I acquired a couple of months ago.

No problems on the other end either; my bag was actually the third off the plane. I rearmed in the car before heading home (my father picked me up at Dulles). Overall a good trip.

Excellent!

Let us know about the return trip thru Dulles...I'm sure it'll go ok...

[stevie_d_64]

"i don't think yelling, "hey bill, we've got a firearm in this one" across the terminal is very professional."



I'm actually not diggin' this trend either...Not sure that this does anything but aggravate, intimidate and generally make everyone within earshot uncomfortable with anything after that point...

Maybe Jim could eleborate on why this could be equivocated to yelling "Bingo, I found one! Where's my bonus!" mentality...

Sorry Jim, you know I'm onboard with a lot of things...I still am, but this kinda pushes a button with me, because it has happened to me on numerous times...I blow it off, ignore it, just so that no one sees or gets satisfaction thinking they are embarrasing me for some reason...I just file it away knowing if I go back through there to know it's going to be a big deal to them...Not me...At least I won't let them know it irritates me slightly...

I have to tell you, several times through Atlanta, the TSA folks were even trying to ask me "Why are YOU carrying a gun!"...That was always the low point of my trips...I ignored them...Filed my complaints, and let it go...

I'm kinda glad I don't have to do that anymore...

Sorry if I went negative...Just throwing my dos centavos into the fray...