You've probably heard that the new prohibitions against liquids and gels in carryon baggage are supposed to produce longer lines at ticket counters and at security checkpoints. For what it's worth, as someone who has flown several times since August 10, I cannot discern any actual effects on the Customer waiting times.
Our own internal stats bear out that one impact of the new restrictions has been an increase in checked baggage. However, having checked bags in three cities in the last 12 days, I have yet to experience a wait longer than five minutes - no different from before. No surprise here - our Customer Service and Ramp Employees are hustling to deal with the increased checked baggage volume.
As for the security checkpoint, the waiting times in my experience have been no different from pre-August 10. Why might that be? Based on my observations, I'd chalk it up to a combination of reduced carryon bag volumes, quick adapting by our Customers, and good work by our friends at the Transportation Security Adminstration ("TSA"). For a more objective view of checkpoint waiting times, read this Baltimore Sun article. The TSA also maintains a website displaying up-to-date actual waiting times experienced at all airport checkpoints. It's a good way to see what you can really expect. Another website, FlightStats.com, also provides this and other information, but it is not as up-to-date.
Bottomline - I have seen no reason so far that anyone should be concerned about increased waiting times to check bags or clear security checkpoints in the post-August 10 environment.
Labor Day weekend is the last getaway travel period before things slow down in the fall. Tell us about your positive travel experience even under the new security rules. Or, maybe you hit a snag, but now you have a great travel tip to share with the rest of us.
Comments
TO THE GENTLEMEN WHO FOUND WAITING SO LONG IN THE A LINE WAS A WASTE, BECAUSE OF THE SCREENER WHO PULLED HIM OUT THEREBY CAUSING HIM TO MISS HIS ENTRANCE FOR A CHANCE OF THE "EXIT ROW", WE THOROUGHLY AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT THE UNFAIRNESS....THESE SCREENERS COULDN'T CARE LESS WHERE YOU SIT, NOR DO THEY CARE HOW LONG THEY TAKE TO SCREEN YOU...WE ENCOUNTERED A SITUATION ALMOST THE SAME...THE DIFFERENCE WAS AFTER WE WAITED ALMOST 2 HOURS IN THE FRONT OF THE A LINE, THE SCREENER WAS PULLING FOLKS OUT OF THE B,C LINE, THEN GAVE THEM FIRST "ENTRANCE" ON THE PLANE AHEAD OF ALL OF US...NOW, THAT TOO WAS UNFAIR......SO TRUST ME, SWA NEEDS TO WORK ON THIS.......DO THEIR SCREENING EARLY ENOUGH SO THOSE CAN GET BACK IN THEIR PROPER PLACE IN LINE IS THE ONLY FAIR WAY TO DO THIS.......
THE TSA AGENTS IN VEGAS ARE HORRIBLE....THEY TREAT THEIR CUSTOMERS AS THOUGH THEY ARE UNWANTED CATTLE...THEY TALK SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LOUD ITS AWFUL........THEY HAVEN'T YET REALIZED THAT IF WE DON'T FLY, THEY MAY END UP BEING THE "UNWANTED" CATTLE.........
ON OUR LAST TRIP TO VEGAS, WE SAW AN ATTENDANT GET OFF THE PLANE WE WERE TO BOARD, GO TO ONE OF THOSE COFFEE PLACES AND GET A CUP OF WHATEVER, COME BACK AND GET ON THE PLANE WITH THE SWA AGENT AT THE GATE ALLOWING IT......SHE WASN'T STOPPED, NOR DID SHE THROW IT AWAY BEFORE BOARDING...SO, IN RESPONSE TO THAT SWA AGENT WHO SAID THEY FOLLOW THE SAME RULES.........."HELLO"...WE AND MANY OTHERS BEG TO DIFFER.........THEY OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD LEAD BY EXAMPLE.....
NOT ONLY ARE FOLKS PAYING MORE FOR TRIPS NOW, BUT ALSO EVEN MORE BECAUSE IF THEY DON'T SEND THEIR BAGS THRU BECAUSE OF THE LIQUID GEL SITUATION, THEY HAVE TO SPEND MORE MONEY ON ITEMS WHEN THEY GET THERE...LUXOR IS THE ONLY HOTEL TO DATE WE'VE FOUND WHO FURNISHES ITEMS, I.E. TOOTPASTE, SHAVER ETC IN YOUR ROOMS......HOW GREAT THAT IS.........THE PALMS DOES FURNISH A NICE SHAVER AND THAT IS GREAT ALSO.........HOPEFULLY SOMEONE COULD DO A BLOG OF HOTELS WITH WHAT THEY ARE FURNISHING IN LIEU OF ALL OF THIS..(ALTHOUGH WE KNOW IT ISN'T THEIR PLACE TO FURNISH ANYTHING)................IT IS A GIVEN THAT ALL WOULD RATHER BE SAFE THAN SORRY, SO FOLLOWING THE RULES IS A MUST...BUT CAN SWA HELP US OUT WITH WATER AT THEIR GATES??????
BRINGING FOOD ON BOARD SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM FOR ANYONE...JUST KNOW " SOUPY CAN'T " FLY........
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.......HAVE FUN IN THE SKIES!!!
A note about ice packs--
National Public Radio's _All Things Considered_ recently mentioned a company in Nova Scotia packing lobsters for its travelling customers. Pre-Aug.10, they used a gel-based ice pack. When the regulations went into effect, they started using ziplock-freezer (clear) bags of frozen peas. They're cheap, edible, and they reportedly stay colder longer.
source: Business Finds New Way to Chill Carry-On Lobster
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5705299
The makeup and gel prohibition is a real inconvenience and will be costly if for some reason it disappears from the checked luggarge. This is not your fault. It is the bad guys that have caused this. I would be willing to pay for a bottle of water on board just as I pay for an alcoholic beverage. I hope I can still bring candy and cheese crackers on board.
I am an asthmatic. I usually carry my inhaler in my purse. I looked on TSA and they say no aerosols what-so-ever. and they dont list asthma under medical and special needs devices. I am wondering if I have to bring my big box (that holds 5 inhalers) with the prescription label on it to get my one inhale through security?
BACK IN MARCH OF 2002 I FLEW FROM HOUSTON HOBBY AIRPORT TO LAS VEGAS. WHEN i GOT ON THE PLANE AT HOUSTON I HAD FORGOTTEN MY CELL PHONE. I WANTED TO CALL MY PARENTS TO LET THEM KNOW I HAD MADE IT. ONE OF YOUR VERY KIND FLIGHT ATTENDANTS ( KAREN SIMS ) ALLOWED ME TO USE HER CELL PHONE TO MAKE THE CALL TO MY PARENTS. AFTER I MADE THE CALL TO MY PARENTS SHE TOOK THE TIME TO SIT BESIDE ME AND TALKED WITH ME UNTIL IT WAS TIME TO TAKE OFF. I NEVER GOT TO SEE HER AGAIN AND WANTED THANK HER VERY MUCH FOR BEING SO KIND. I WAS GOING TO SEND HER RED ROSES BUT MY MOTHER HAS DELETED HER CELL PHONE NUMBER FROM THEIR CALLER I.D. KAREN IF YOU ARE STILL WORKING FOR SOUTHWEST, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH KIND LADY. YOUR TRULY, GUY E. MILLER
My husband and 2 toddler children are traveling on 9-18 from Chicago to California. Any suggestions to make traveling more convenient? We are bringing a car seat for 19 month old and a dvd player for enterntainment. My question is that my son is asthmatic and we have to bring a nebulizer. Is this a problem as well as the bringing his medication? Thank you for your help.
Babette Ensing
Hi Joseph,
Thanks for posting your comments. You may not be aware, but our CEO, Gary Kelly, has a posting here on the blog about assigned seating. That post has generated over 580 comments, with those comments running in favor of our current open seating by a margin of at least 3 to 1. You can go to Gary's post here, and I think you will find your answers in the comments. Our Customers are passionate about open seating. Keep in mind that no decision on this subject has been made yet, and we are looking at more options. The test in San Diego is finished, and we plan to conduct additional tests with open seating.
Brian
Liquid ban is another pain. Although I understand your comments are limited to waiting times, from the customer's point of view, it's not just the waiting time that matters. Stress level and convenience are also factors. With the new bans anxiety and incovenience are both increased.
And we should not take the cavalier point of view as one commenter responded that the public will "continue to [fly] as long as flying is the fastest form of travel." Many trips are 'for leisure' and thus are discretionary (as are most of mine). My guess is the success of the Ding Fares program bears witness to the discretionary nature of many trips. Any added inconvenience will undoubtedly have a negative affect on the decision to make a discretionary trip.
Baltimore is my home base and SWA's fourth busiest airport. But it is probably not a good example to use when it comes to checkpoint waiting times. I say this because the folks at BWI are in fact a lot more efficient at getting large (Very Large) numbers of folks quickly through the checkpoints than at the average airport. That efficiency will undoubtedly shine through even with additional carry-on restrictions. Likewise, if you take an airport which historically has been inefficient -such as BUF- one could argue that they will be even more inefficient with additional restrictions in place. Or even worse, if you truly believe these new security measures are warranted, what about if the inefficient airports get folks through just as quickly as before August 10th at the expense of security. That is to say they are less careful in checking for all 'security risks' because now they have more to check for - but the need to get people on time to their scheduled departure gate remain the same.
The other problem with the new restrictions are that the traveler has to come earlier because he's forced to check his bag if he plans to bring along some toothpaste for brushing his teeth, or if he plans to bring along any of 100 of other personal items that people normally travel with. Say for example the businessman who travels once or twice a week for a day trip with nothing but his briefcase in which he happens to carry a small bottle of mouthwash or an aerosol breath freshener. He now has to get up earlier to so he can check his bag. If it (security) wasn't such a serious matter, it would be laughable.
And then there is the cost involved. How long can Southwest continue to induce people to fly if with a $49 fare there is a security fee of $49? It would be like renting a car at the airport for $25 for a day, but having to pay $15 to take the Airport Authority's shuttle just to get across the street to the rental location.
And by he way Kasi, no you cannot carry on liquid mascara. Basically you should go under the assumption that ALL liquids, gels and aerosols are prohibited. Why? Because there are few exceptions. JUST BRINGING a prohibited item to a security checkpoint - even accidentally - is ILLEGAL. How many travelers do you think are aware of that law?
"You are now free to move about the country".
I understand the various ways and their justification that SWA is different from other airlines and have no problem with these differences with one exception "no assigned seats". I am unable to fathom what advantage the airline gains by not offering assigned seats. I do know the peace of mind gained by passengers who book months in advance because of seat requirements and regular non panicked boarding procedure when a passenger knows his or her seat is reserved.Please explain SWA's reasons for non-assignment!!!
I am curious is mascara a liquid? I know you cant bring liquid foundation but what about mascara. And lipstick as been allowed but has lip gloss? And I wear a lip stain that looks like a marker pen so it would have a liquid ink inside the pen would that be allowed?