Surviving Security in U.S. Airports

Last year I travelled with my wife and our six month old baby to the United States to visit my wife's sister. We have been in the U.S. several times after 9/11 so we were well aware of the hysteria in American airports, but this was the first time we travelled with a baby.

To those of you that have children, there is no need to explain the effort invested in leaving the house with a baby. You need to take a bag with diapers, several clean bottles, pacifiers, clothes for all weather, blankets, soft wipes, baby cream, baby sun protector, a stroller, toys... and much more; and I am talking only of the things needed to leave the house for the afternoon. Just imagine the synchronization needed to fly overseas with a baby, a national intelligence agency would have its hands full with this mission.

Anyone that has been in a U.S. airport in recent years is well aware of the security routine check you must pass through prior to entering your gate. You need to take off your shoes, your belt and all your personal belongings, pass them through the X-ray machine, go through the metal detector, and then dress and pack back your belongings.

For an adult by himself this procedure is annoying (delicately speaking), but when you are with a baby it becomes no less than a juggling act. First of all you have to take all the baby bags with all the above mentioned baby accessories through the X-ray machine, then you have to take the stroller and try to make it pass through the X-ray machine, not an easy task. By the way, don't forget to take the baby out of the stroller before you do this. Yes, you have to take the baby out, even if he is sleeping. Yes, I know that babies sleep a lot, so just wake him up.

Luckily my wife was with me, so she took the baby while I tried to push half of our house through the X-ray machine. All this time, dozens of passengers behind me were waiting patiently for me to finish this assignment, probably feeling a bit sorry for me, and wondering if there was any chance they were going to make it to their flight on time. Of course my assignment wasn't over, afterwards I had to put all the pieces back together before we could continue to our gate. To my surprise, most of the time our baby didn't cry even if we woke him up. My guess is that he was in too much of a shock.

I tried to imagine what would a mother with baby twins do in this situation by herself? Hold her babies in both arms and try to put the stroller in the X-ray machine with one leg while balancing on the other?

My question is : is all this really necessary?

Before you start shouting at me about world terrorism, let me say a few things:

• I am not saying that security isn't necessary, not at all. I perfectly understand that security is a vital aspect of our daily life. Furthermore, I think that apart from airports, there is a lack of security in the United States. Terrorist acts could happen in different places where security is not as tight as it should be : bus and train stations, shopping malls, stadiums, concert halls.
• I have no understanding whatsoever on security or counter-terrorism. I have no intention in explaining how or what security measures should be taken in airports.

It seems to me however that security routines have been driven by fear and panic, and not by logic. I think that security checks could be changed in order to make life a little easier for the passengers, without restricting security measures.

I have spoken with many people that enjoy travelling as much as I do, and many of them have told me that travelling through airports in the United States is such a frustrating experience, that it has become a crucial factor on deciding their future destinations.

Setting the pace of your vacation

Ten years ago, while visiting China, I met a young couple from Eastern Europe. As traveller's often do, we started talking about the different places we visited in this fascinating country.

After five long weeks in China, I could count the number of destinations I visited with two hands. I was left absolutely speechless, not to mention a bit envious, by the endless list of destinations they visited. They practically criss-crossed the whole of China. From Urumqi in the North-West to Shanghai in the East coast, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Guilin, Macau.... you name it, they were there.

After I recovered from their account, I asked them how long have they been travelling in China. I estimated that they would need at the very least a year to cover this little pond called China. You can understand then how amazed I was when they told me that they have only been travelling for six weeks.

My first reaction after they told me the duration of their trip was that this was a joke, and not a very good one, if I might add. But then they started explaining how they managed to do it.

• As a rule, they only travelled by night. This allowed them to visit during the daytime, and use the night to jump to their next destination.
• During the last six weeks, they stayed in a hotel only one night. The rest of their nights were spent in buses, trains and planes. They even showed me their collection of travel tickets they had.

You don't have to be a mathematician to figure out that if they only stayed in a hotel for a single night over a period of six weeks, then except for one place, they didn't spend more than a single day in any one of their destinations. This must have been some place!

The only explanations I could think of their trip were:

1. They were running away from someone
   
2. They were trying to set some kind of new world record
   
3. I was dreaming
   

Otherwise I had no explanation why people would spend six weeks torturing themselves in this manner. I LOVE travelling, but I would personally prefer reading a guidebook on China, upon this experience. I would also probably learn much more about China in this way.

So why am I telling you all this? I am not so sure, but probably to say that this is not the way I would travel . If there is something I have learned from my travels, especially in the Far East, is that you should adjust your pace to the place you are going. From my own experience in the Far East, there is no need to run around. Just sit down and the world will start evolving around you, whether you want it or not.

Of course it is very easy to take things calmly when you have all the time in the world. Years ago, as a bachelor, I used to travel for several months at a time to a different corner of the world. If I found myself at a charming location, I just stayed there for as long as I wished. Today I am married and have a beautiful baby boy, and I don't have that luxury anymore. Our trips are much shorter and must be suitable for little children. We try to keep a relatively slow pace and enjoy our vacations, even if this means that we will be unable to see everything we had planned to.

Airlines : Non-stop Flights

When was the last time you boarded a flight with a stopover (as opposed to a non-stop flight)?

Unless your last flight was from Sydney to London, in which case you probably stopped in Bangkok or Singapore to stretch your legs before continuing your eternal journey, chances are your most recent flights have been non-stop.

This may seem totally natural to you, but not so many years ago, many flights used to hop, skip & jump from one city to another, until you finally reached your port of call.

The main reason for this gradual change is technological improvement. Over the years civilian aircraft giants Boeing and Airbus have steadily extended aircraft flight range.

Another reason is economic feasibility. Airlines (at least private ones) will launch a non-stop flight to a distant destination thousands of kilometers away only if the demand for such a flight is sufficiently high to fill planes. That is also the reason why we see a decline in non-stop flights in the last year, as the demand for flights in general falls, due to the global financial crisis.

Partial History of Non-Stop Flights

• In 1961 the longest non-stop flight was from Tel Aviv to New York by El Al on a Boeing 707 aircraft (approximately 9250 kilometres/5800 miles) in 9 hours and 30 minutes.
• In 1976 the longest non-stop flight was from Sydney to San Francisco by Pan Am on a Boeing 747SP aircraft (~ 11950 km/7400 miles).

• In 1988 El Al broke once again the record by flying from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles (~ 12600 km/7600 miles) in 13 hours and 40 minutes.
• In 2001 Continental Airlines launched a non-stop flight from Newark to Hong Kong on a Boeing 777-200ER (~ 13000 km/8050 miles) with a duration of over 16 hours.

In general, long haul flights consume more fuel than flights to the same destination with layovers, despite the fact that : (1) the distance travelled is shorter, and (2) a lot of fuel is burned during takeoff and landing. This is because the weight of the aircraft is substantially higher, as the aircraft must carry enough fuel for the entire flight, and therefore needs even more fuel to carry the added weight...

Furthermore, the extra fuel stored in the plane decreases the available storage space for cargo and/or the number of passengers on board. Not surprisingly, airline charge higher fees for these flights, approximately 10% more than similar flights with layovers. Prices that many people are willing to pay to save a few precious hours.

There are other factors concerning long haul non-stop flight that should be taken into consideration:

1. Environmentally speaking, long non-stop flights are worse for the environment, as they burn more fuel and thus emit more carbon. I found a single article on this matter with which I disagree, but I am no expert. You are more than welcome on judging yourself.
2. The risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is said to increase with the duration of the flight. As the length of non-stop flights increase, health risks will probably increase, and new risks may appear, as the time of exposure to lower oxygen levels ascends.
   

The longest commercial non-stop flight to date was inaugurated in 2004 by Singapore Airlines from Newark to Singapore on an Airbus A340-500 with a flight time of almost 19 hours (~ 15350 km/9500 miles).

What will the future bring? It is rumored that Qantas is considering launching non-stop flights between Sydney and London. It seems that both Boeing and Airbus could offer longer-range versions of existing planes that could meet the necessary requirements. The flight time from London to Sydney would be 21 hours.

Destinations : Jiuzhaigou National Park

Welcome to The Traveller's Chart Blog, a partner of The Traveller's Chart.

Every month we shall present a different corner of the globe. Here you will not find any attractions appearing in "must see" or top 10 lists of any given city or country, but rather more obscure, out of the way sights, which we feel are well worth a visit.

We will greatly appreciate any comments, good or bad, from fellow travellers that have been there in the past. Furthermore, recommendations for future presentations are more than welcome.

Our first destination will be : Jiuzhaigou National Park, Sichuan, China

Jiuzhaigou National Park

Jiuzhaigou, or Nine Village Valley in Chinese, is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is located in the province of Sichuan in South West China, North of the city of Chengdu.

Jiuzhaigou offers some of the most spectacular views of lakes and waterfalls I have ever seen. When I was travelling in China in 1996, I had no intention on visiting the park, but after receiving warm recommendations from fellow travellers, I decided, along with some friends, to alter our plans and visit Jiuzhagou.

Just getting there was an adventure in itself .We took a bus from the town of Songpan, but after an hour or so the bus got stuck in the mud (not an uncommon experience in those days). After more than an hour we decided to continue walking. After some time we managed to ride the back of a truck, along with several very funny and very drunk chinese.







After we stepped off the truck, much nearer to our destination (we hoped), a van took us to the entrance of the park.

From start to finish the 90km trip took us 8 hours, but it was well worth the effort. The views throughout the park were no less than stunning. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my years of travel.

We stayed 3 days in the park, each day walking tens of kilometres along the Y shaped valleys, admiring the views.

I remember vividly the amazing reflections on many of the lakes. After I came home, I remember asking friends to guess on my photographs which side is the landscape and which is the reflection.

I understand that nowadays Jiuzhagou is much more accessible. There are flights to Songpan from Chengdu and other cities, and private helicopter flights are available directly to Jiuzhaigou.