Another article by Micheal Reichmann on Luminous Landscape about flying into the United States from Canada, specifically Toronto departures. He concludes the item by saying he may not travel, at least by air, due to the hassle.
It would be interesting to hear the recent experiences of those flying into the States from jurisdictions other than Canada.
Posted by Jim DeWitt on February 3, 2010 at 2:54 PM
I'll be traveling outside the U.S. soon (Dave: sunlight you can feel on your skin, liquid water, the color green). If there is anything remarkable about my experience, I'll pass it along.
That sounds like an exceptionally bad airport (I remember going through a similar setup flying to Canada 10 years ago and it was also bad due to simple lack of physical space; apparently it's gotten worse). I fly from asia to the US several times a year, either through Detroit or Minneapolis (mostly recently in January through Minn) and it's usually just fine; lines at immigration and customs move steadily and it usually takes about 45 min from the time I get off the international flight to the time I'm at my gate for my connecting local flight. I was kind of worried this last time since I was arriving a week after that exploding underwear guy made the news but it was completely normal at the airport.
Posted by Dave Flaig on February 4, 2010 at 4:57 AM
I travel internationally at least once a month and have been for the last 16 years. 911 changed a lot of things besides airport security. Recent events have as well. It's simply the World we live in now. Long before 911, airports around the World had much better security than the US or Canada. We basically had very little except for Customs. For the traveling consumer or businessman it was all but invisable.
Since 911, Locherbee, the shoe bomber and yes, undies bommer there were some very GOOD things happening. The technology of the scanners has improved 500%, The TSA and airport security are doing other things to insure our safety besides asking silly questions and adding an hour or more to our schedules. Airports now have more security cameras than a blackjack table at a casino and very sofisticated systems to help them identify known threats.
People may rant about the inconvieniences but you can bet your last devalued dollar the systems in place today, are improving daily and are the best available at this time.
While it may be true that not all airports and agencies have access to the very best systems due to cost and manpower, flying internationally is as safe as can be on any given day.
For myself, the biggest inconvenience flying with my photography gear is the small Sardine Cans the airlines use to get us from midsized city airports to a major one. This has nothing to do with airport security but is more due to economy. (or so they say...)
On these short hops in the tin cans, they usually have planeside check for oversized roller bags.
My carry-on is a rather large roller bag with my laptop and a camera bag inside. Both of these have shoulder straps and can be carried onboard if the roller doesn't fit in the overhead. You drop them off (empty) as you board and pick them up at the gate when you arrive at your next destination. IMPORTANT TIP: I never let my camera, laptop, or lens out of my sight. I've even taken the two bags above and my 10-20 and my 600mm in their soft cases onboard these little puddle jumpers. ANOTHER TIP: ALWAYS board as soon as possible!!! First one onboard gets to use as much overhead space as he or she can fill.
when I travel I carry anything I can easily replace in my check bags. I carry the expensive stuff on board in my roller bag. This bag consists of my laptop, and my camera bag. In this, I have my D200, 150mm macro lens, a 50mm 1.8, a 1.4 teleconverter, a set of extension tubes, a vari-nd filter, polorizer, a small assortment of filters for the 50mm, a SB-600 and a flash cable. All my other small stuff like chargers, spare batteries, tripod and mono-pod, memory cards, lens and sensor cleaning gear etc.., are in my checked baggage.
In 20 years of traveling I've never lost a thing. (Well, until after I reached my destination..) If you find a
Sigma 10-20 somewhere near Baramatti India, let me know...
LAST TIP: Ask your travel agent to add an extra hour to your lay-over times between international connections, my life on the road has become much easier and less stressful since doing this. I do not have to run through airports anymore.
I'm currently in Japan, leaving tomorrow for a week in Korea and then traveling to Jakarta Indonesia for a week. Then I return to Seoul, then back to Japan, and finally back to Winter in green Bay.
I'll be in Central Mexico by the end of the month. About half that time will be getting there. Well over 40,000 miles on this trip alone.
Dave Flaig
www.flaigphoto.com
Posted by Scott Snyder on February 4, 2010 at 9:53 PM
Returned from Mexico City on AA through Dallas last Saturday. Carried a backpack with multiple bodies and lenses no problem. Various batteries, tripod and head, and misc gear in checked bags, no problems there either.
Discussion
4 repliesIt would be interesting to hear the recent experiences of those flying into the States from jurisdictions other than Canada.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/outrage.shtml
Since 911, Locherbee, the shoe bomber and yes, undies bommer there were some very GOOD things happening. The technology of the scanners has improved 500%, The TSA and airport security are doing other things to insure our safety besides asking silly questions and adding an hour or more to our schedules. Airports now have more security cameras than a blackjack table at a casino and very sofisticated systems to help them identify known threats.
People may rant about the inconvieniences but you can bet your last devalued dollar the systems in place today, are improving daily and are the best available at this time.
While it may be true that not all airports and agencies have access to the very best systems due to cost and manpower, flying internationally is as safe as can be on any given day.
For myself, the biggest inconvenience flying with my photography gear is the small Sardine Cans the airlines use to get us from midsized city airports to a major one. This has nothing to do with airport security but is more due to economy. (or so they say...)
On these short hops in the tin cans, they usually have planeside check for oversized roller bags.
My carry-on is a rather large roller bag with my laptop and a camera bag inside. Both of these have shoulder straps and can be carried onboard if the roller doesn't fit in the overhead. You drop them off (empty) as you board and pick them up at the gate when you arrive at your next destination. IMPORTANT TIP: I never let my camera, laptop, or lens out of my sight. I've even taken the two bags above and my 10-20 and my 600mm in their soft cases onboard these little puddle jumpers. ANOTHER TIP: ALWAYS board as soon as possible!!! First one onboard gets to use as much overhead space as he or she can fill.
when I travel I carry anything I can easily replace in my check bags. I carry the expensive stuff on board in my roller bag. This bag consists of my laptop, and my camera bag. In this, I have my D200, 150mm macro lens, a 50mm 1.8, a 1.4 teleconverter, a set of extension tubes, a vari-nd filter, polorizer, a small assortment of filters for the 50mm, a SB-600 and a flash cable. All my other small stuff like chargers, spare batteries, tripod and mono-pod, memory cards, lens and sensor cleaning gear etc.., are in my checked baggage.
In 20 years of traveling I've never lost a thing. (Well, until after I reached my destination..) If you find a
Sigma 10-20 somewhere near Baramatti India, let me know...
LAST TIP: Ask your travel agent to add an extra hour to your lay-over times between international connections, my life on the road has become much easier and less stressful since doing this. I do not have to run through airports anymore.
I'm currently in Japan, leaving tomorrow for a week in Korea and then traveling to Jakarta Indonesia for a week. Then I return to Seoul, then back to Japan, and finally back to Winter in green Bay.
I'll be in Central Mexico by the end of the month. About half that time will be getting there. Well over 40,000 miles on this trip alone.
Dave Flaig
www.flaigphoto.com