Day Four
It seems like I spend all my time connecting through Pittsburgh so I decide to see what their security measures are like as I prepare for today’s flights. I leave my protected environment and head out to the ticket check-in counters. I did not have a copy of the e-tickets I was on and thus had to go to the front. As soon as I saw the lines, I realized I might have made a very stupid mistake and endanger keeping to my itinerary. At the ticket counter the elite line was longer than the regular line for checking in which is not unusual for a major hub for an airline. I have about an hour to go and get in line, having given up that I could possible make the 8:10 flight to Milwaukee. Maybe all this flying is starting to effect my ability to use common sense. Yes, I probably should have stayed inside the airport. Oh well, this is the real world. What happens next is unbelievable. When I stand in line for most other airline elite check-ins, it seems to move pretty slowly. What I witness is great. It doesn’t take a half-hour to move through; it takes less than 15 minutes. What, don’t these US Airways elite guys and gals change stuff all the time and want to take up the day at the counter? Apparently not as these employees really move it. I’m still amazed because I’ve stood in similar lines a few hundred times. But, so what if I now have my boarding pass, the lines below for security are as daunting as those I encountered in Denver are. Sure, two hours and I’ve now got less than 45 minutes to be on the plane and out of here. This is now all about the Pittsburgh Airport and not US Airways and if I miss this, I might spread the blame around. So, into the long line I go. No sooner do I start to think about whether to play ‘kick-the-bag’ or rent a SmartCarte to nudge along at some pace slower than a turtle, I’m interrupted as the lines move, and move, and move, and move. What’s going on here I start to wonder. Did I somehow get in the line for no baggage or was this an employee express line. Well, I kept moving my bags in amazement and was in and out of the security checkpoint in less than 15 minutes. This same line would have taken 2 hours in Denver. The important thing is that after looking around, I felt just as secure with their procedure as the one in Denver. I have a few words to say as I head off to enjoy a half hour before my next flight that I would have never guessed to see: US AIRWAYS ELITE LINE STAFF AND PITTSBURGH AIRPORT ROCK. With that out of my way, I’m off to Milwaukee for yet another quick turnaround and then back to Pittsburgh and off to Dallas.