This trip is beginning to wear on me. The world seems to be moving in slow motion and my butt no longer has much feeling. Arriving for security at Dallas/Fort Worth an hour and a half before my 7:40 a.m. flight, I’m greeted by a much different security setup. Most other airports have a central flow of security checkpoints. Dallas has multiple entry points and as a result there doesn’t seem to be any bottlenecks. I’m in and out of the US Airways line in three minutes and through security in another 10 minutes, and that included being signaled out for a random bag and bomb check. While I might have been lucky because this section of the terminal doesn’t have the traffic that the main American Airlines terminal does, I’m told by others that by and large security at DFW works better than most of the California airports. My travel today is fairly easy with just Dallas – Charlotte – New Orleans – Charlotte – Columbus on the agenda. About 13 hours of traveling today but when I know there is no red-eye tonight, I’m a happy camper (‘camper’ being the operative word here). While in Charlotte I run off to one of the other US Airways Clubs for an interview having first been met at my gate by another very savvy frequent flyer. Dean Burri in the last 17 months has notched up around 400 flight segments to his name and knows a thing or two of the situation in Charlotte. So far this has become my favorite airport. It feels comfortable and the main area with the rocking chairs and plenty of sunshine really works for me.

Since I haven’t seen the outdoors since late last Thursday, maybe you can appreciate my feeling of wanting to know that the world is actually still out there. The good thing: I don’t hear airport “Muzak” anymore, I hear people talking and carrying on with their travel lives. Dean tells me that Charlotte has none of the wait problems associated with security checks that some other airports are suffering from. The club room I’m in today is different than the other one I visited a few days back, but every bit as well run. With facilities for a business center, I chat with a reporter and conclude my visit with some real food. A real sandwich and a brownie takes my metabolism back to normal. Unlike the other club rooms, the ladies working here are a bit more shy and they scurry off when my camera starts clicking. But I did get a shot of the manager and I, who incidentally was a great source of information on what the verdict is from club visitors on the current travel situation. Unfortunately I have run off to my gate, not wanting to be the first to board nor the last passenger on. The last passenger on the plane is a personal goal of mine in normal times. However with airlines wrestling with new rules and compliance issues I no longer want to make them worry if Randy is coming along or not. So, take my advice and linger early at these gates. On board the US Airways flight to New Orleans I realize that my cover has been busted. While getting comfortable (easy to do since I have little or no feeling in my body) I get to chat with every flight attendant on board and was very lucky to be able to chat with John Cipolloni the station manager at Charlotte. While he deals daily with passengers in a way different than mine, it is clear that our observations and understanding of where the traveling public is right now in terms of their outlook on travel is quite similar. Heck, maybe I should have just called him to begin with and I wouldn’t have had to do this. Seriously, this is one of those trips (or mileage runs) of a lifetime. While it will take its toll on me before the end is out, there’s simply too much to like about it, not to do it. Back to the flight crew, two words – mutual respect. As we get closer to New Orleans, I’m checking my itinerary to make sure we’re on time and that I do have just about a half hour to make a run for some fresh beignets … sorry to have to do that to you but if you’ve ever been to New Orleans you know what I’m talking about. Well, I need to return my seatback to its upright position so I can get ready for my food run. Wish me luck.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2001 at 7:31 pm and is filed under Come Fly with Me, Day 5. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.