The one unsettling thing you’ll have to get used to are the random luggage checks. Airport authrities are doing randon checks of luggage and individuals at nearly every departure gate. These don’t indicate any bit of suspicion of you as they are just random and include young, old, single and families. Please when you see this happening, don’t give these fellow travelers the evil eye or cold shoulder later on because your random selection may soon come up. So the next time you hear your name called over the gate area loudspeaker, it may not be that you cleared the upgrade line or you got a chance to get bumped.

My next flight to Greenville/Spartanberg is on a US Airways Express regional jet and these always make me think I’m on a private jet. Keep dreaming huh? As we land and change to yet another ‘private jet’ for the next flight into Jacksonville, FL I suddenly realize that while most of the frequent flyers are putting their wings down for the night, I’m just half way through the first day. Oh well, think miles.

With a full day in the air and only the frustration of Denver International Airport in my memory, I’m reminded of an email I received from one of my readers shortly before leaving on this trip. He said to try and keep US Airways a secret because if too many people found out, they might change. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. I’ve flown this airline over a dozen times which in no big deal, but the times were spread out and I wasn’t able to get a close look at how they would fare in more frequent use. Well, if what he meant was that they are a nicely kept secret, then I have to agree. Their first day is first rate with me. As is the next thing I want to comment on. I check into the Holiday Inn at the Jacksonville Airport and something happened for the first time ever. When I was registering, the clerk asked me if I had already pre-registered for the big 25,000-point bonus they have going on. I was trying to remember when she placed a flyer in front of me. It didn’t sound familiar but as I realized how many of these hotels I was going to be staying in over the next two weeks, I took it with me. Very nicely run hotel and afterwards I noticed a ‘Members Choice’ ribbon on another clerk when checking out the next morning. A Members Choice award is a Priority Club honor voted on by members of that program and given to the hotel which has the best overall service in the land. I’m not sure how many such honors are given away but this hotel surely has earned one. I looked into the special business traveler lounge on the way to my room and while not unlike other special rooms at Sheraton or Hilton or Marriott or Hyatt, it did have something unusual. They had a book loan program with a wide variety of paperback and hardback books left or traded by other guests. Since I had just finished one, I turned it in and took another. A very, very cool idea. Now I know yet another reason they are an award-winning hotel. Enough said, breakfast with one of my readers and then off to security at this airport.

Well, unlike Denver International, this airport took me only 10 minutes to clear. While I’m sure size of the airport is part of it, they had plenty of personnel ready to make it work. One bit of advice. You have probably heard that nail clippers are again allowed to travel with you. What you need to know is that they are likely to break off the metal file part of them. Here’s the advice. While the first security test you passed might have broken that part off, other security people won’t know and you’ll always be flagged for them to check. If you always travel with nail clippers, carry them on you, that way your bag won’t always be holding you up. Yes, they stopped me and they actually gave me the advice. That is a nice gesture. Again, license at the boarding gate and I’m free to fly.

Security at Jacksonville is smooth, taking me only about 15 minutes total to get through the checkpoint and that included the US Airways check-in counter. On board the flight to Charlotte I sit next to an elderly lady who spends winters in Florida and summers in Wisconsin. Of course she’s a cheesehead and connects with one of the flight attendants who is also a Packer Backer. She was in London on September 11 and has all too well remembered the effect on her. One of the first to fly back to America from there, she remembered landing in the airport in Boston that had no one around, then on to Chicago which, while there were a few more people, was clearly a ghost town of an airport. All her kids and grandkids continue to ask if she’s afraid to fly. But she decided early on that life is way too short and she was going to continue to live it. So she continues to fly when and where ever she pleases, reminding her concerned family that, “When it’s time to go, it’s time to go and nothing I can do will prevent that. So I will not slow down my time to travel.” This comes from a lady who clearly enjoys life and clearly enjoys the value of family as she shows off some of the knitting she’s doing for her kids – all with Green Bay Packers motif. Of all the new security changes that have been made, she only has a problem with one – she has to now leave her knitting needles home and purchase new ones where ever she travels to for any length of time. As we touch down in Charlotte, I noticed something from the crew that I don’t often see. In first class the flight attendant went to each person and gave them their gate assignment for the next connection, rather than leaving them to listen to the overhead and try to remember and write it down from a long list. Very nice touch, I can’t wait to try and get an upgrade if that is the way things are done at US Airways.

While on an hour or so layover in Charlotte, I head to one of the US Airways Club rooms to while away my time. Finding a corner to catch up on some business, I happen to go to the counter and ask about my seat assignment on the upcoming red-eye to Phoenix and back later this evening. The ladies had heard about my flight schedule and we quickly became best friends. What a wonderful group, they clearly have all worked together for some time and I paused to take a few pictures with them, though I think I messed up the flash and begged them to take a few extras (I only hope that you can see them in the picture). Honestly, this is one of the happiest groups of ladies I’ve seen in any airport lounge in a long while. So Lisa Boyce if you’re reading – cheers. On the subsequent flights to Atlanta and then on to Pittsburgh, I noticed for the first time that things are getting back to normal from a passenger point of behavior. Some of the passengers are flirting with the flight attendants. Some things will never change. This weekend day of travel is really like any other, large groups of travelers going and coming from some tour, guys (and some girls) crowded around the TV screens in bars and elsewhere watching their favorite college team win or lose and it feels good that many of them aren’t glued to CNN anymore. There will likely be other times when we’ll all crowd around the TVs for reports on CNN, but for now it feels good not to have to. Barring no changes in current world events, I’d feel comfortable saying that based on this day at the airport, our world of air travel will return to normal in 3-6 months. In larger airports even the National Guard isn’t so obvious. It’s either that or I, like others, have become accustomed to them, which is OK with me.

Atlanta-Pittsburgh flight is off the gate and airborne in under a minute. While the flights seem to be getting a little more crowded as US Airways and others trim back their schedules, it seems to be a great way to increase reliability. I’m on my 8th flight with a 100% on time schedule so far. I’m sure to encounter a few problems along the way to 70 segments on this trip but right now this is as flying was supposed to be. With all the news about FAA changes to carry-on baggage and such, I’m carrying (not checking) 2 weeks worth of clothes along with my backpack computer case and have encountered no problems so far and that includes a lot of up and down in a variety of aircraft. While there is certainly a limit to things, I really haven’t found anything out of the ordinary for typical business travelers.TIP: every outside security screening seems to focus on nail clippers. I’m not sure why but that’s the norm out here. So, if you carry one around, I might suggest you don’t carry it in your regular luggage bag since the security personnel will more than likely stop you most of the time and dig it out, thus causing you lost time to the gate. They won’t know that you broke off the metal nail file. I’ve just decided to carry it along and pass it through security along with my cell phone. That way it is easy to pass through and inspect if needed.

While on ATL/PIT for my connection to my first night of red-eyes, I strike up a conversation with a guy in pharmaceutical sales and he’s out here about 150 days a year. The events of 9/11 had no impact on his travel he was airborne in a matter of days but his concern about all this was the pressure from the family. With a wife and two kids, they were doing all the worrying for him and did cause him a little reflection at first, but that is wearing away as he’s recorded his 12th flight since that day and comes home safe to the family every few days. One of the more challenging trips for business or other travelers is the dreaded red-eye flights that link the two coasts. Flying over America late at night is one way to get where you are going and also one way to forever be tired at the next morning’s presentation if you aren’t one to sleep on planes and have the luxury of flying coach. Well, I’m in coach and doing my first back-to-back red-eye (PIT/PHX) followed the next night by another red-eye (PIT/SFO). While a great way to save on hotel bills, it’s a lousy way to earn more points at Holiday Inn. But, off I go into the night. My lottery seat numbers for tonight are 31A and 8D and the first leg is 3 across and the middle seat guy does have some elbows. As we approach Phoenix, I’m still wide-awake and not that much farther in the paperback I have propped up in front of me for the past 4 hours or so. As I deplane, I notice they have already started to board the flight back to PIT and a quick flash of the drivers license, a few answered questions and within three minutes and fourteen seconds, I’m back on another plane headed from where I came. Lucked out this time, there’s no person in the middle seat which means I have some elbow room to really stretch out. This time I’m a little smarter opting for a window seat as opposed to my usual aisle seat. I’m not going anywhere fast so I might as well let the side of the airplane hold my head from bobbing down. Yes, the world of travel is looking a little different behind these sagging eyelids. But no sleep for me, I’m in 31A and that means a little noise behind the jet engine. The captain says we’re at 41,000 feet. I’m just wondering what happened to the normal 33,000 feet. The more I travel on this the more I return to wondering stupid things like that and less on things like the changes in travel. Whatever the changes are, you’ll quickly find out as I have that they are melting into the background.The flight attendant working the back of this flight deserves a mention. After a little while I ask her about a blanket and a pillow, as I didn’t notice any when boarding. As expected it seems that all airlines are cutting back on these items and so I’m prepared for head to fiberglass comfort as I lean to my left side seeking the “zone” to make it through this flight. A half-hour later the same flight attendant gets my attention and delivers to me a pillow and blanket. Apparently she had not forgot and played detective. As a passenger, it’s always nice to know that I’m not ignored and forgotten. Yes, those of us that fly away in 31A deserve and got spoiled. The only thing better is if she might have offered up an upgrade because there were no pillows. I’m quite sure that thought was in a dream of mine as we head toward Pittsburgh. I think I remember landing in Pittsburgh at 5:22 a.m. and realize that not even the clubroom is open at this ungodly hour. The only thing now that keeps me going is the fact there are other traveling souls in the airport at this hour and somehow they all look better than I feel. Or is it that they look like they feel better than I look? So, pillow hair aside (in case you’re wondering I still need that haircut) I hum a few bars of ‘Why Am I So Tired – Part 2′ enroute to the next gate for a flight leaving in a few much too short hours.

Well, I realize that here it is Sunday morning as my usual habit is to enjoy reading the Sunday newspaper. What I’ve never realized is that on this day I will have read that paper locally in 5 cities: Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Detroit and San Francisco. Thank goodness I like to read. As I board the flight to Louisville along with about 30 other people I notice something quite unusual. This gate agent is looking at the driver’s license of each person as it’s presented and saying, “Welcome aboard Betty”. In my case he did call me Randy. Isn’t it good that we can actually be comfortable to acknowledge each other’s name? I would back legislation backing this for FAA mandate. Anyway, it’s funny how things like this stick out. On the Pittsburgh – Louisville turnaround it is the very same plane and in the 10 minutes it took me to reboard, the head Flight Attendant pulls me aside and asks if I wasn’t just on the flight that has just landed from Pittsburgh. When I answer her truthfully she wants to know why I would do such a thing. When I answer, “It’s a frequent flyer thing” she grins as if understanding. Later she comes over and says she looked up my itinerary and thanks me for spending my day with US Airways. She then gifts me with a large bottle of water and mentions that I’ll need it for hydration by the end of the day. And that’s how I got my next drink.

My next flight of the day was a quick flight to and from Detroit and during the process of getting the plane ready to leave the gate, there seems to be a security concern. When the plane doesn’t leave as scheduled we start to look around just as the captain comes on the overhead and let’s us know that they have been selected for a second check on some security issues. Wondering what that might be all about, we watch as three passengers are lead off the plane. After 15 minutes each is back on the plane with the captain giving us an update about every 10 minutes, just enough to sooth any concerns we might have about arriving in Detroit. Running almost 45 minutes late, we’re off for Detroit. What did happen was that those who had been selected for further security screening were given complimentary seats in first class and I overheard the flight attendant tell all the others up there that it was just a random check and everyone was fine. That went a long way toward making us all feel better because as was expected, the person sitting next to me adopted a “guilty” frown toward the three people as they sat down and muttered something as to wondering why they were still let on the plane. I’m glad it happened as it allowed me to see up close and personal how airlines are going to handle these situations, as they invariably will come up from time to time. Of course the flight back was running very late and everyone who boarded was worried about his or her connections. The flight attendants let us all know that flights were being held and that most if not all would be in good shape if they had running shoes on. As it turns out, a few did miss their connections and I chatted with them briefly. Of the 5 people I chatted with, only one held the airline at fault, the other 4 seemed to forgive the airline and understand it was a security issue beyond the fault of US Airways and they were fine with that.