Why I prefer to take the train over the plane

"sechumlib" wrote in message
...
And what about security measures BEFORE boarding your vaunted
JetBlue or Southwest flight?

It takes me 5-10 minutes to get my ticket, go through security, and arrive
at the gate. Now, I'm a frequent flyer so I know how to get through fast,
but if people would just read the f'ing signs and listen to what the TSA
people tell them, they wouldn't have problems either. What part of "remove
all metal objects from your body" makes people think that watches,
steel-toed boots, etc. are excepted? What part of "place your shoes and
jacket in the bin" makes people think they don't need to remove them? What
part of "place your laptop computer in a separate bin" make people think
they can stuff their shoes and jacket on top of it? I don't get it.

Yes, certain airports have special lines for folks like me, but they don't
get any fewer people in them -- they just move faster because we all know
how to do it correctly, so we're not stuck behind idiotic tourists. The
TSA's "two strike" rule at the metal detectors has helped quite a bit in
places that don't have FF lines.

S

--
Stephen Sprunk "Stupid people surround themselves with smart
CCIE #3723 people. Smart people surround themselves with
K5SSS smart people who disagree with them." --Aaron Sorkin

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Hatunen wrote:

On 21 Feb 2006 20:02:13 -0800, "Abe Kouris"
wrote:

Just came back from a trip from DC to Vermont. I decided to take
Amtrak, even though it's a 10+ hour trip vs. flying (about 4 hours, if
you count dealing with travel to the airport and check in and security
BS.)

More like 13 hours from DC to Burlington.

And the price was reasonable: ~$130 r/t vs. $178 r/t on
Southwest BWI-Manchester. (Those touted $39 one way fares are actually
$49 after they add various taxes and service charges, and they're not
always available.)

Both trains were 100% on time,

Is that the usual situation, or were you lucky?

The schedule is so padded, and the pace so liesurely that
this train usually is on time, barring severe weather conditions.

"Abe Kouris" wrote in message
oups.com...
Just came back from a trip from DC to Vermont. I decided to take
Amtrak, even though it's a 10+ hour trip vs. flying (about 4 hours, if

But the best part of the rip was my homeward journey. Strapped to my
belt I had my trusty 6-inch Bowie knife that I had forgotten to take
off when I got out of the woods. On boarding the train -- no taking
off my shoes, no TSA security weenies treating me like I was some kind
of criminal. Heck, the conductor even helped me with by bag and skis,
even though I think I was slightly over the Amtrak carry-on limit with
the size of my bag. I just climbed into the train stowed my gear and
found a seat. And also, there's enough room so that someone stowing
stuff overhead isn't blocking the passage of 100 other fellow
travelers.

The it was lunch time, and I went to the cafe car, bought a bottle of
Cabernet, took out a nice chunk of genuine Vermont cheddar cheese and
started hacking at it with my knife, eating Vermont cheese with
California wine, watching the scenic countryside roll by.


Abe,
Nice story trains vs planes.
The knife? Seriously, are you truly unaware that 99% of the people around
you are very uncomfortable, because of your knife? Put the knife away and
use the cafe silverware to cut your cheese. Yeah, yeah, yeah, your knife is
legal etc and you have a right etc, but I'll bet nearly every person who
noticed your knife had to convince themselves that you weren't a threat.
Still, a nice train story. I wish travel by train were a reasonable option
for me. Haven't enjoyed flying for years!

"Keith W" wrote in message
...

"sechumlib" wrote in message
...
Abe Kouris wrote:

Yucchhh! Curse you Orville and Wilbur!

Well, with all due respect to you, I don't think it makes ANY sense to
curse Orville & Wilbur. Plane trips were once very pleasant.

Better to curse, first, Mohammed Atta and his henchmen, now thankfully
dead, who did such a number on the US via planes; and second, the stupid,
idiotic airlines, that seem to think the more unplasant they make flying,
the more people will fly.

More realistically blame the travelling public who want the lowest
ticket price no matter how crappy the service. Those airlines
that have done best are the low cost airlines who cram more
seats in and cut services to make the op profitable.

Keith

My guess is that payroll is the biggest problem, not the public wanting to
be able to afford to fly. If they can afford it they will fly. If they
can't afford it, they won't fly. The airline needs to make a profit or
there is no airline. And, with exception, payroll is the largest overhead
component of business.

Would suggest you actually try flying rather than believe what you
read. I love trains but, frankly, find flying less frustrating than
sitting around a station and waiting for hours, sometimes, for a train
that doesn't come close to departing on time, or trying to get
information that is in any way reliable. Ten extra minutes though
security is nothing to me.

"Ron" wrote in message oups.com...
Would suggest you actually try flying rather than believe what you
read. I love trains but, frankly, find flying less frustrating than
sitting around a station and waiting for hours, sometimes, for a train
that doesn't come close to departing on time, or trying to get
information that is in any way reliable. Ten extra minutes though
security is nothing to me.

Ten minutes? Where do you live, Utah?

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 03:34:53 GMT in rec.travel.usa-canada, "Buck
Fush" wrote:

Ten minutes? Where do you live, Utah?

in the past 3 years, i've been through OAK, ANC, SEA, JNU
multiple times and it's never taken more than 5 minutes, usually
less than 3.

On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 21:03:07 -0900,
(Dennis P. Harris) wrote:

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 03:34:53 GMT in rec.travel.usa-canada, "Buck
Fush" wrote:

Ten minutes? Where do you live, Utah?

in the past 3 years, i've been through OAK, ANC, SEA, JNU
multiple times and it's never taken more than 5 minutes, usually
less than 3.

Been through STL, JFK, SJU or LRH lately? Hopefully they've
improved in the past three years.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

The knife? Seriously, are you truly unaware that 99% of the people around
you are very uncomfortable, because of your knife?



Yes I know the feeling. We went to a restaruant the other night and
people were actually using a knife to cut their food. We were just so
uncomfortabe & couldn't wait to leave. Guess it will be McDonalds from
now on where people around us will be eating a burger with their hands!

I live near Boston and fly once or twice a month, sometimes more.
Seldom takes me more than ten or fifteen minutes to get through
security and that sometimes includes a personal search because I cannot
take my shoes off. Sure, on the holidays it may take a bit longer, but
in the last couple of years I've found things to move very smoothly at
the large airports. It's at the smaller ones where things can sometimes
choke up. And, I must say I have never had to enter Atlanta or LA from
the outside. Anyhow, folks seems to forget that with the new check in
kiosks, on-line boarding passes and ticket ordering, etc. flying is in
many ways far less of a hassle than it was ten years ago.