the ambiguities of modern air travel

[cellio]

I'll be flying to a conference in a week and a half. I haven't flown in a while (though I did fly once not long after 9/11/01) and the rules probably aren't stable, so among things, I checked the airline's web site for the current baggage restrictions.

I guess it's nice that they've listed the items obviously banned in carryon baggage, like firearms and infectious materials, but where do I go to find out if nail clippers and the like are still banned? (That's just an example.) I'm hoping to avoid being slowed down by checked bags.

They have a section on "special baggage". I expected it to contain items like child car seats, which it does. I was kind of surprised by entries for antlers, christmas trees, and personal floatation devices. (I also see nothing about pets, which I suspect is a more common case than antlers.) But next time I want to fly with a christmas tree, I'll know where to look.

Trivia of the day: a musical instrument for which you buy a (full-fare!) seat must not exceed 165 pounds. Many passengers exceed 165 pounds; why is a musical instrument held to a different standard? Mind, I'm having trouble thinking of an instrument that weighs more than 165 pounds but (1) would fit in those little seats and (2) could be carried on in the first place, but that's not the point. (It appears that flights no longer come with meals, so the question of whether my hypothetical string bass is entitled to its own sandwich and Diet Coke is moot. Demanding its own bag of peanuts just doesn't have the same effect.)

Comments

[siderea]

I have no idea why 165lbs in particular, but the signal difference between a passenger and a musical instrument is that musical instruments, contrary to rumor, do not move themselves out of the way. I strongly suspect it's a safety reg that has to do with emergencies.

[siderea]

Or put another way, passengers have laps. You can fasten a passenger to an airplane seat such that if the airplane abruptly starts going down, the passenger goes with it. You can't necessarily fasten any other, presumably lapless, object via the seatbelts. If the airplane drops, Newtonian motion kicks in and that >165lb worth of inertia is going to try to stay right where it is. Relative to the passengers and the plane, the object goes up in a hurry, smashes into the overhead bin or roof of the plane. If, unlike a skull, it is a hard sharp object, the skin could be breached and depressurization ensue. Even if it just smashes into the overhead bin, it then is free to bounce into the heads of the people next to it.

[cellio]

Ah, good point. I hadn't considered projectiles. (They do say that the instrument must be strapped in and must not obstruct emergency exits or other passengers, so I assume that means it gets a window seat not over the wing.)

[tashabear.livejournal.com]

a musical instrument for which you buy a (full-fare!) seat must not exceed 165 pounds.

Perhaps because it's easier to regulate such things, which are potential projectiles in the case of a crash or other in-flight emergency?

This list of prohibited and permitted items is on the TSA webpage here (http://www.tsa.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/Permitted_Prohibited_8_23_2004.pdf) (pdf). I'm glad I looked; I routinely carry a kubaton (steel rod, about 6" long useful as a weapon) on my keys, and will have to remember to put my keys on a lanyard next time I fly (also useful as a weapon, just a slightly different configuration).

[cellio]

Thanks for the pointer!

Eeek. The part about being criminally liable for bringing forbidden items, in combination with the waiver that the inspectors can make judgements on the fly, is scary!

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

This is why I am *NOT* flying to Denver for KWHS next year (I'll either be taking the train or riding with someone). It's not that I hate airplanes: it's that I hate airPORTs.

I wish I weighed as little as 165lb!

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

Sounds like they worked out what the max size of a musical instrument case could be to fit in the seat, and then asked around as to how much a saxophone or euphonium fitting in that size case would weigh. That said, the rule is still stupid -- they need to come up with some other way of saying that the instrument must not exceed X by Y by Z inches...

Re: I wish I weighed as little as 165lb!

[cellio]

Yes. For checked and carry-on baggage they give both weight and dimensions; they left out the dimensions here. For that matter, I'm not sure how easy it would be to even find out if my hypothetical double bass or tuba would fit in the seat at the time I buy the ticket.

[dsrtao]

but where do I go to find out if nail clippers and the like are still banned?

You can't. The TSA essentially makes it up as they go along. Every week the list changes; you're not allowed to know what's on the list.

(If you find this as offensive as I do, perhaps you'll consider joining the Electronic Frontier Foundation or the ACLU, both of which are working to counteract these (IMO) illegal and unconstitutional practices.

[cellio]

Oh joy. I knew that the list had been kind of haphazard at the beginning, but I thought they'd settled on one by now. I didn't realize that it's a matter of policy to keep passengers in the dark, not knowing if they're going to lose valuable property at the gate.

I am already a member of the EFF; I'm in near-total agreement with them.

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

Hopefully, there will be some sign at the ticket counter or near the security station that explains whatever the locals do about nail clippers, etc. My experiences have been mixed. When I flew home right after 9/11 (as in the Sunday after), my nail clippers (incl. a 1" attached file) and nail file (~5-6" long) were confiscated, and I never saw them again. Since then, I've packed up nail care equipment both in bags that were checked and in bags that were carry-on. As long as they were safely tucked away and not in my purse, I've had no complaints.

Weirdest airport safety experience: being questioned on the way out of Ben-Gurion in early August about a bottle of generic Pepto-Bismol. The thing still had the factory safety seal on it, but the guy was bound and determined to get every bit of info out of me possible. Walt explained later that it was probably because bismuth looks opaque on the x-ray machine, meaning it could theoretically be used as a cover for something.