"Changes for better, for worse - Fliers more relaxed, but skies not friendly"

Sunday, September 7, 2003

REMEMBERING 9/11: Changes for better, for worse - Fliers more relaxed, but
skies not friendly 
By Skip Card
The Tacoma (WA) News Tribune 


For Tom Craig, the allure of airline travel flew out the window after 9/11. 

"It's just much more serious," said Craig, owner of TSC Real Estate, a
Seattle brokerage firm. "You don't joke around. You just get on a plane and
get where you're going."

Craig flies about 10 times a year, about half the time on business. Before
9/11, when he held a different job, he typically flew three times as often.

Tougher security checks now force Craig to arrive at Sea-Tac Airport two
hours before departure, as he did Friday for an American Airlines flight to
Chicago.

Concerns about missed flights and long lines usually are unwarranted, he
said, because "nine times out of 10, they're efficient enough to get you
through."

Like many experienced travelers, Craig knows to remove his shoes, watch,
coins, belt, keys and jewelry at all metal detectors because "I don't like
to beep."

Fellow travelers also seem to accept the inconvenience of tougher screening.

"Most people are more grateful than they are annoyed," he said.

In the months immediately after 9/11, "people were cautious and wary of
other travelers," Craig said. "There was all of a sudden a heightened
awareness that the person next to me could be a problem."

Now, he said, "people have settled in more and seem more relaxed - as
relaxed as people ever were about flying."

The economic slump that followed 9/11 dramatically affected airline travel,
Craig said. Airlines saw fewer passengers, particularly in profitable
business class.

Meanwhile, Internet booking that lets people compare ticket prices forces
airlines to keep fares low. As a result, many airlines now charge for meals,
drinks, headsets and other niceties that once were free.

"All the little things about flying being a special experience, forget it,"
Craig said. "It's all just the same."

Despite the changes, Craig - like many busy Americans - knows commercial
jets are still his only real choice for long-distance travel.

"You want to go to New York, you're not going to take a train, you're not
going to drive," Craig said. "You fly. What else can you do?"

Attached Photo:

Post-Sept. 11 hysteria and ignorance led to crippling stereotypes regarding
small aircraft, said Rich Mueller, operations manager at Tacoma Narrows
Airport.

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