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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000015.txt from 2006/09

From: "Peter Brower" <pbrower@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Re: consider switching airlines and tell the inconsiderate ones you are.
Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2006 17:08:38 -0400

I am an Adult amateur and my playing schedule has increased. I carry my
Bassoon with me to practice on business trips so that I do not lose practice
time. I have found Northwest and its affiliates and United and Skywest
Regional to be very very accomodating with my instrument. I carry it in a
Kim Walker Bag, and sometimes my Fox case. I have found that many of the
screeners and gate personnel in Minneapolis, Denver, Detroit, Colorado,
Arizona, Virginia, to name some, now recognize the instruments on their
x-ray machines and try to guess what it is. The best way to handle
screeners, from my point of view.
1. Warn them they will be seeing an instrument
2. Be extremely polite
3. Always offer to take it out of its case. They seem to feel better if
you offer rather than they request. and then difer, saying it is okay.
4. Don't be afraid to offer alternatives, ie. Let's see if it will fit,
and if it doesn't we'll check it, or would the gate personnel like to
re-check the case, sometimes this calms them down..
This has all worked quite well, I usually travel every other week, and have
been doing this for 2 and one-half years so I have racked up a lot of
Airlines/Screener interventions
Peter Brower

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