NTSA confiscations

[awa54]

So this is a big, interesting/ugly topic, what do you all think about:

1) Shouldn't there be an easy process for passengers to get their knife/tool/other banned item mailed to their home or destination?

2) Is it at all ethical to seize knives and multi-tools, then sell them?

3) Are the steady stream of "NTSA sale" knives listed by several Ebay sellers really from that source? I mean, seriously... are there still that many people who are so ignorant or forgetful that they have a knife seized at the security check?

4) Do you believe that air travel is actually safer without small pocket knives in the plane?

[SG89]

Airlines suck. And yea you would be surprised how much stuff they take from people. Not just knives all sorts of things. Like people trying to take hammers, monkey wrenches, hacksaws, drills, stupid stuff like that in their carry-on not to mention loaded guns. Man I hate air travel. Mostly bc I hate the other passengers but also bc the tsa sux.

[bearfacedkiller]

1) Yes

I did mail myself a knife from the airport but thankfully I was there early and realized I had it before I got to TSA and I was in my home city so I just mailed it home. There should be an option at TSA for that sort of stuff. If you are running late and the airport is busy you are out of luck. I think most airports have a Post Office.

Not TSA but I also tried to go to a Nuggets game at the Pepsi Center in Denver and forgot I had my knife. They let me check it at coat check. I was surprised since I was a little inebriated and I was nervous that they wouldn't give it back but after the game, and a little more inebriated, I presented my ticket at coat check and got my knife back. It was a rather expensive knife and I was sure someone would steal it. Why can't it always be that simple? I have no idea if they would do that again and I don't want to test it.

2) I guess it is better than throwing them away but the big question is really; Who get's the money?

3) I have no idea. I see all those lots on there too. I have almost bought a whole box of SAKs a couple of times. Seems as though they are the most common knife in those lots.

4) I feel very, very strongly that the TSA is about the illusion of security, not about actual safety. It is a PR move to make it look like they are protecting us. After 9/11 they had to do something to make it look like they were doing something. Have you seen any of the results of their own internal audits? They quite openly admit that they catch only a small number of contraband items. I lived in Denver last year and people are flying out of there every day with backpacks full of weed. Sure, they catch many of them but they admit to missing a lot of it. It has been on the news out there a few times. That is all my theory and things I have seen on the news. My first hand experience is this, and I admit to being a little absent minded at times; I have flown with contraband by accident a few times and have never been caught. Can I explain walking through a metal detector with a neck knife on and not setting it off? No, but I have my theories.

I also got flagged once and they harassed me for ever and of course wouldn't tell me why until after. They brought out the dogs and the electronic sniffers and searched me all over and went through all my stuff. Turns out I stepped in some sort of petroleum product on my way in or something. Yup, some gas or oil residue on my shoe sole set off all the red flags. Could I possibly be the only one who steps in stuff like that walking in from passenger drop off? Good job TSA!

My advice is first to not be as absent minded as I can be and second to remember that you and you alone are responsible for your safety. Do not be confused by a false sense of security.

[Doc Dan]

Airlines "lose" a certain amount of your luggage because they make money on the sale of the "lost" items. There are actual stores around the country where they sell said "lost" (stolen) items.

The TSA probably keeps the money from confiscated items and puts it in their coffers. I wonder how much would be confiscated if there were no financial incentive?

[kiwisailor]

Airlines suck. And yea you would be surprised how much stuff they take from people. Not just knives all sorts of things. Like people trying to take hammers, monkey wrenches, hacksaws, drills, stupid stuff like that in their carry-on .

Oh c'mon, that's a bit harsh.
The hammer was for all those loose nails in carpet (Safety hazard), monkey wench was for my male monkey at home, hacksaw was for the handcuffs, and the drill was for extra ventilation (gets stuffy on long hauls).. I always travel prepared.

[SG89]

Lol

[The Deacon]

So this is a big, interesting/ugly topic, what do you all think about:

1) Shouldn't there be an easy process for passengers to get their knife/tool/other banned item mailed to their home or destination?

Unless it's something the person had obviously taken pains to conceal in order to sneak it aboard the plane, yes.

2) Is it at all ethical to seize knives and multi-tools, then sell them?

IMHO, no. It's "theft, under color of authority".

3) Are the steady stream of "NTSA sale" knives listed by several Ebay sellers really from that source? I mean, seriously... are there still that many people who are so ignorant or forgetful that they have a knife seized at the security check?

Been years since I browsed eBay for knives. But, while it would not surprise me if at least some of the sellers were getting their wares from other sources, I'm enough of a cynic to think if there aren't quite that many ignorant and forgetful people, the difference will be made up of those who think they're smart enough to get away with it or get a rush from trying.

4) Do you believe that air travel is actually safer without small pocket knives in the plane?

No.

[TomAiello]

I don't see why the TSA doesn't let someone set up a private contract business right at the security line, where you can pay to have them mail something from there. I bet it would be both profitable and popular.

[bearfacedkiller]

They have never seemed very concerned with being popular, maybe the profitable part would motivate them.

[TomAiello]

Airlines "lose" a certain amount of your luggage because they make money on the sale of the "lost" items. There are actual stores around the country where they sell said "lost" (stolen) items.

Every time I've had luggage lost, the airline has compensated me more than the fair dollar value of the lost items.

[Evil D]

Never been on a plane, don't plan on it unless it's to deliberately jump out.

[Doc Dan]

Airlines "lose" a certain amount of your luggage because they make money on the sale of the "lost" items. There are actual stores around the country where they sell said "lost" (stolen) items.

Every time I've had luggage lost, the airline has compensated me more than the fair dollar value of the lost items.

You are fortunate. We have had luggage actually shredded (!?) and no compensation. Once, we went to get out luggage and were told it was lost and had to wait 24hrs to make sure it did not arrive later. We were finally told to make a claim and told to go to a particular counter. We went to the counter and found the guy in the back, asleep. We woke him up and he got mad. He gave us a toll free number and said we had to call that number to make the claim. We tried and tried and no answer. Finally, we called another number and got a supervisor. She told us that the number we were given was no longer in service, and had not been for quite some time. She told us to go back to that counter and talk to a supervisor, and gave us his name. When we went back, the supervisor we asked for was the guy who had been asleep and gave us false information, knowingly! He told us that since it had been (by then) longer than 24 hrs we could no longer make a claim. It took us about 2 months to settle this idiocy and it never was settled to our satisfaction.

American airliners need to go out of business, as far as I am concerned. I know you all saw the video of that poor man being dragged off the airplane recently. Well, I have seen worse, and if you say anything, the crew has you arrested once you are on the ground. I saw an elderly lady, who was obviously ill, ask a steward for a bit of water and his response was to stoop down and scream in her face, calling her all sorts of things. I have seen the crew members assault passengers and no one can do anything about it. There was a man who made a complaint about how the stewardess treated another passenger and so they threw him off the plane. I could go on.

If you fly foreign air carriers, like Korean Air, Singapore, and others, they treat you better in coach than an American carrier does in first class.

[demoncase]

So this is a big, interesting/ugly topic, what do you all think about:

1) Shouldn't there be an easy process for passengers to get their knife/tool/other banned item mailed to their home or destination?

2) Is it at all ethical to seize knives and multi-tools, then sell them?

3) Are the steady stream of "NTSA sale" knives listed by several Ebay sellers really from that source? I mean, seriously... are there still that many people who are so ignorant or forgetful that they have a knife seized at the security check?

4) Do you believe that air travel is actually safer without small pocket knives in the plane?

As a frequent international traveler:

1) That would be nice- but the NTSA (and all other Border agencies and airports) have one primary objective: Ensuring flight safety
They post messages on their own websites about what's allowable carry on
They post messages on airport websites about what's allowable carry on
They post messages on airline websites about what's allowable carry on
They post messages on travel agent websites about what's allowable carry on
They post messages on every flat surface (practically) of every airport from the front door to the point of security carry on
They even print the self same messages on your boarding pass and ticket information.....

You fail to take the *ahem* subtle hints all that amounts to?... then I have no sympathy if you couldn't be bothered to pat yourself down before you went to the airport....
Due to the frequency of internal flight usage, too many Americans treat planes like a slightly noiser bus- they are not.
There are significant important international laws related to flight safety that apply to YOU regardless of how much you agree with them or not....and one of them is about what is allowable as carry on.

Comply or lose the item....It's been law long enough for everyone to get the message by now.

Remember: The TSA have no requirement to ensure you make your flight or retain your property. They only care about safety
Any conversation that you have to have with them outside of answering their direct mandated questions is one that should NOT have happened- and arguing with them is a recipe for a very bad day.

2) Questionable- but the way to solve that is to comply with the rules in the first place and not have them confiscated

3) No idea- possible, more likely trying it on with a common search team as a key word (Example- every single piece of militaria of US or UK issue listed on Ebay.co.uk appears to have "SAS" or "SPECIAL FORCES" in the title or subtitle somewhere )

4) Yes I'm afraid I do.....It isn't about you and me, who are sensible grown up responsible people....It's about the idiot who gets liquored up in the airport and goes bezerk at 30,000 feet. It's about the situation that occoured on 9/11 where simple box-cutters were the hijacking tool of choice.

Flipside of this to ask yourself is- what do I need a pocket knife for at 37,000 feet?....There's nothing I need to cut.

[demoncase]

[

American airliners need to go out of business, as far as I am concerned. I know you all saw the video of that poor man being dragged off the airplane recently. Well, I have seen worse, and if you say anything, the crew has you arrested once you are on the ground. I saw an elderly lady, who was obviously ill, ask a steward for a bit of water and his response was to stoop down and scream in her face, calling her all sorts of things. I have seen the crew members assault passengers and no one can do anything about it. There was a man who made a complaint about how the stewardess treated another passenger and so they threw him off the plane. I could go on.

If you fly foreign air carriers, like Korean Air, Singapore, and others, they treat you better in coach than an American carrier does in first class.

20+ flights a year across the world I've gotta 100% concur.

Flying Emirates for 20 hours is a treat
Flying United for 1 hour is to be treated like scum- if they bother to acknowledge your existence at all.

[demoncase]

Oh- and now I feel like I'm spamming this thread- but here's a handy guide for all folks looking at flying I wrote 2 years ago.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=67298&p=1013015&hil ... l#p1013015

I stand by every word I wrote even now....so I must have had my head screwed on right that day :)

[SG89]

Due to the frequency of internal flight usage, too many Americans treat planes like a slightly noiser bus- they are not

Truest statement on the entire forum.

[Ankerson]

I never liked flying Commercial and haven't been on a plane in over 30 years and don't plan on flying anymore either.

That said, the TSA is nothing more than a reaction of what happened on 911.

The worst thing is from what I have been reading is the airlines are packing more and more people into these flying buses as time goes on. Then start thinking these are Corporations that are running these things cutting costs/corners anyway they can. Same thing the Cruise Lines are doing currently so both have been in the news much more lately.

That scares the **** out of me so I seriously doubt I will ever fly again.

[demoncase]

Oh, I don't know old chap.....see, it all depends quite how one flies and with whom- Here's a little jaunt I made to the Philipines last year (36 hours door to door) on an A380 with Emirates.....

There's 500 folks on this plane. These are terrible conditions in Business Class.

I mean- look at this- it's like a blessed sardine cooped up like this with only two different champanges to choose from for free. I nearly cried

And look at this tiny little touch screen entertainment system- with a seperate iPad in the seat that removes so I don't have to reach forward to touch the screen when the seat has turned into a lie-flat bed....Disgusting!

Realising that there's little to keep a passengers attention with such horrible conditions- Emirates put a little galley at the rear.....I mean, I know they mixed the cocktail of my choice by hand at the time, but I'd far prefer to be dragged off a United flight I'm sure :D

And just look at this starter- I choked it down. They called it smoked salmon, but you know what airline food is like.....


Terrible times. :D

[TomAiello]

Flying United for 1 hour is to be treated like scum- if they bother to acknowledge your existence at all.

Be glad if they don't acknowledge your existence. It's better than what happens when they do acknowledge it.

[SG89]

Wow demoncase do you need therapy from such mistreatment? :P