Amarillo to Tampa - Weird TSA Pre Twist

My annual January trip to AMA is over.  I've flown out of there many times since 9/11.  Why is TSA so weird there?  I won't go through all the strange things I've had to do to get through security there, but this time my boarding pass said "Pre" and as I approached security I got the three beeps and a plastic card with TSA logo on it.  OK, I suppose.

So I get to the machines and take the cell phone out and walk through.  Then I hear "bag check!" and wonder what the heck.

So they look at the liquids, etc an re scan the bag.

I asked the agent about this.  I said I thought Pre meant the liquids were ok.

To which I was told, "Here at Amarillo the passenger is eligible for Pre but not the bags."

HUH?

I guess this simply means that you can keep your shoes on and that's about it.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA613/history/20140117/2135Z/KAMA/KDEN

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA1964/history/20140118/0001Z/KDEN/KTPA

Tampa to Amarillo - Easier this Year

It's time for my annual trip to AMA.  Everything I posted on this blog a year ago is still true.  It's a tough place to get to.

I get a text from Southwest at 830 AM telling me that my 5:15 pm departure is already 15 minutes late.  How can you know this far in advance?  Probably a crew rest issue.  Who knows.

We end up leaving TPA 20 minutes late.  We eventually get into AMA 30 minutes late.

I'm not sure I've ever gotten into AMA on time.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA215/history/20140112/2215Z/KTPA/KHOU

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA56/history/20140113/0200Z/KHOU/KDAL

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA56/history/20140113/0325Z/KDAL/KAMA

O'Hare to Tampa via ATL

After 6 days if putting up with a polar vortex and all the mayhem that goes with it, time to go home to my island for just 20 hours.

But

Ahh, yes, the 717 loads on time at ORD.  This is the first Delta B717 I've flown on.  They came from Air Tran and they have cleaned up quite nicely.  First is nice as well.

But

So we close the door and sit.  And we sit.  Cockpit comes over the PA and states that they are waiting on "performance numbers".  Now while I know what this means, the reality is that we arrive 20 minutes late into ATL.  That's just enough of a delay to cause chaos once we get to the gate.  The usual number of passengers running over each other to make the connection.

**sigh** "Performance number delay.

My connection to TPA was late.  "We are waiting on our flight attendants to arrive".  You know the drill.  Nothing is automatic with a hub and spoke carrier.

And my time at home on Pass A Grille got cut by an hour over this.  Amarillo is next.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL393/history/20140111/2000Z/KORD/KATL

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL2376/history/20140111/2251Z/KATL/KTPA

Minneapolis to Chicago - Will it Ever Get above 0?

Well, yes, it will.  Like when I get home to Pass a Grille on Saturday night.

Flew the Delta MD90 out of MSP.  I bought first so didn't have to mess with a battleground upgrade. 

I'm not going to complain about delayed and cancelled flights too much when we are all in the grip of a "polar vortex". 

But I noticed that DL ran all their flights into ORD today, whereas AA cancelled a couple.  Maybe their fuel is still frozen here in Chicago.

We were 20 minutes late.  Not a problem.

We pull into the gate and the jetway is frozen and takes 10 minutes to attach to the plane.  Still I can't gripe about that.

As a guy who worked for a couple of years on the ramp for DL, I feel so sorry for these folks outside having to load the bags. 

God bless 'em.

Here for four days.  Then home to Tampa.  But just for one day.  Uggh.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL729/history/20140108/0135Z/KMSP/KORD

Tampa to Minneapolis - It's a Polar Vortex

Or something like that.

If you've been staying in touch with the world, you know it's cold.

It's 26 below zero as I write this.  I think this is the coldest temperature I've ever personally experienced.

Less than 24 hours ago I was sitting at a poolside bar in Pass A Grille and it was 78.  All I can tell you is that when this air hits your skin, it feels like your skin is burning.

The flight was 90 minutes late, not bad considering how messed up commercial aviation is this week.  I bought first class, so didn't have to fret over the upgrade.  Thank goodness for the many direct flights out of TPA.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL2559/history/20140105/2305Z/KTPA/KMSP

Happy New Year!

Here's the map for 2013 from www.flightmemory.com.

I flew 131,232 miles in 2013.

That's  13000 miles fewer than 2013.  Good for the home life, bad for business.  If you measure economic recovery in terms of the number of days I spend with customers, a recovery is nowhere in sight.

OK, A New Year's Resolution

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I stopped posting in early August 2013 but now all is well again.

In general I would say that the last four months have been pretty good to me in terms of flight hassles and hotel problems.

I did not go out much after early November and the travel tapered to practically nothing as the end of 2013 approached.  But January 2014 gets rolling with a trip to MSP and Chicago.  The first three months of any year are my busiest.

I just finished reading a great book, written by the author of www.askthepilot.com.  The book, "Cockpit Confidential" is certainly up to date in terms of the issues it addresses.  It's probably not the kind of book that would entertain an infrequent traveler.

But since I stopped posting, I'll simply list the destinations that I flew to since the last post:

Aruba (AirTran, lousy experience)
Hermosillo, MX (learned the hard way about the ways of getting between Terminal 1 and 2 in MEX)
St. Louis
Dallas
Houston
Baltimore
Lexington KY
Knoxville TN
Elmira NY
Philadelphia
Detroit
Wilmington NC
Baltimore
Dallas
Atlanta
Boston
Baltimore
Kansas City
Nashville
Seattle
Las Vegas
Knoxville TN

One final note.  I'll heavily paraphrase what a Delta attorney said in a recent court case concerning the fact that the old Northwest cancelled a frequent flyer account because the account holder "complained" too much.  The lawyer stated that Delta was under no obligation to provide service or customer satisfaction.

LOL.

Or something to that effect.