Who’s That Man?
I have had to travel for business with some considerable frequency in the past, a bit less for personal reasons, but the experience of checking in at the gate for a flight I booked was always the same: show your ticket and show some airline clerk an ID. I was once told that I could have my ticket dishonored, be thrown out, or even arrested if I failed to produce a valid driver’s license. Corporate ID has been rejected in my experience if the clerk didn’t recognize the company. I actually spent a couple of months traveling on the same flight once every two weeks, checking in with the same clerk every time, only to have my ID rejected after about three months without any explanation. Presumably the clerk had gotten in trouble for accepting as ID something other than a driver’s license or passport. In any event, the following trip everything was back to normal. The FAA issues regulations and recommendations to the airlines regarding the administration of their passengers. The safety demonstration is an example of a regulation. The ID check is a recommendation. Airlines treat them both as mandatory. It’s easier that way. For them. It doesn’t do any good at all. The airlines are happy to require an ID check because it enforces their policy that tickets are non-transferable. It makes sense to say that the luggage stowed in cargo and the passengers match up, but what about mail? Who’s checking that? Besides, why would a suicide bomber tag his luggage under a pseudonym anyway? Look, if you don’t want me to fly, don’t sell me the ticket. Up until the point when you take my money, you can refuse me service. After that, you’d better get me on the plane even if I did have a beard when I had my ID photo taken. Want real safety? Impose realistic safety measures.