Checking Gun on Outbound Flight Prevented Online Check-in for Return

[Maverick1950]

I had an experience this holiday season that I have not had before. I declared my handguns as usual (with Delta) when I checked in at Detroit Metro. No problem. When I tried to check in online for my return flight, however, the website said that there was some sort of "special service" involved with my reservation so that I could only check in at the airport. I called Delta and asked why I couldn't check in online, and I was asked if I was flying with a "weapon." I said that I would be, and the woman said that was why I couldn't check in online. I expressed surprise, as I've been in a similar situation many times. The woman said something about new policies.

I asked about this when I checked in at the airport, and they said that my reservation must have been flagged because I had declared a firearm on the outbound flight. As a result, although I was TSA Precheck on the outbound flight, I was not on the return flight, even though other family members, whose tickets were booked separately, were Precheck in both directions. The Precheck line was much shorter, and I am pretty ticked about this.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[joeschmoe]

Yes, but usually it's the opposite. The airlines automatically assign me e-tickets, curb side check in, online check in, express, etc; but I know I need to check in at the counter for a firearm. Even after waiting in line they repeatedly try to wave me to the express machines or tell me to just go on to the gate and carry my luggage on the plane. I refuse and insist on checking in at the counter. This usually annoys them until I get to the counter and say I have a firearm to declare. Their whole check in process is descending into a 3rd world type chaos. They have no clue to what they hell they are doing. It's up to us to make sure we check in correctly.

The TSA and airlines rules say you must check in at the counter for a firearm. You're not allowed to do curbside, e-check, gate check or anything that will get your bag tossed onto the plane without being declared to the TSA as containing a firearm first. I just go along with what ever e-ticket non-sense they are using this week, show up early, wait in line at the counter and declare the firearm to the agent.

 

[Maverick1950]

I understand that you have to have the gun in your checked luggage and declare the gun, which I've done many times. The annoyance was not being able to check in online (which has never happened before) and then in not having the TSA Precheck. I'm also not terribly happy about having my return reservation "flagged" when they did not know whether or not I would be traveling with a firearm.

 

[hso]

I would assume you could not check in prior to the flight since you have to go to the counter to declare the firearm. How could it be more inconvenient knowing you have to go to the counter anyway?

 

[Willie Sutton]

^^
It often means you don't get to pick a better seat, which you can often do when you check in electronically the day before the flight. Checking in electronically confirms your seat, allows better seating, and prevents being bumped off if they overbook. Checking bags is still possible, by going to the counter. I understand the OP's question, as the convenience of all of this is lost if you cannot do so.


Willie

.

 

[Maverick1950]

Given the airlines' penchant for selling more seats than they have, it always gives me some piece of mind knowing that I am already checked in for a flight when I arrive at the airport. I'm also not thrilled knowing that my ticket is "flagged" by the airline for special scrutiny simply because I had checked a weapon on the outbound flight. Whether or not I was checking a firearm on the return flight, I could not check in online, and from time to time I have flown with a firearm only in one direction. Finally, the airline's action caused me to lose my TSA Precheck status, which cost me additional time going through security. Now, none of this is the end of the world, nor did I claim it to be. However, it is a (seemingly) new irritation for people who fly with firearms. This seems to be a change in practice, as I've flown numerous times with firearms without having this happen, and I was curious whether others had had this experience.

 

[hso]

It often means you don't get to pick a better seat, which you can often do when you check in electronically the day before the flight.

That wasn't my experience this holiday travel. I picked the seats for my wife and daughter and I online and we checked in at the counter and got those seats.

 

[mrdeltoid]

Maverick1950:
Yes, I had EXACTLY the same experience as you over the holidays. I flew into Memphis, TN with a firearm which had been declared prior to flying per all rules by Delta and TSA. When I attempted to check in online for my return flight, I received exactly the same message as you.

Online checking-in and payment for a bag with a gun has never been possible, at least in the past several years since I started taking my pistol. BUT you could get your boarding pass. In reality, the only difference that results from what we have just experienced is that you cannot check in and get your boarding pass online.

So you still have to go to the counter anyway, you just are now getting your boarding pass AND checking your bag there instead of being able to do the boarding pass online.

Where has this new change come from? I do not believe one bit that it is a change in Delta's policy. I think records are kept of people who have flown with a gun. Either people who have flown a certain number of times with a gun in the past, or just anyone who flies with one now. I think the TSA is behind this, not Delta.

So I asked my father, a retired federal law enforcement agent, what purpose this may serve. You already have to walk up to the counter to check your bag. So you aren't really doing anything different. But perhaps the difference now is that they know you are coming with a gun. When you show up, there can be someone checking you out (maybe just someone standing around that you aren't noticing), checking your behavior, recording your face, etc.

Yes, I know it sounds paranoid. But there is a reason behind this change and passengers are not being told what that reason is.

 

[Maverick1950]

I sent a complaint/comment to Delta yesterday asking about this. I'll let you know what, if anything, I hear.

 

[jamesjames]

I am concerned about this as I am in the midst of a sojourn using Delta. Few out yesterday and will return in a week. I am 6'4" and 290 lbs. I need to check in in advance to book a better seat/legroom situation. No problem with initial online ticket booking and 24 hour prior-to-flight check in. It will be interesting to see if I can check in online the day before my return trip.

I don't see why the airline would do this to passengers transporting firearms, as we have to check the bag and declare the firearm anyway. Why jeopardize my seat assignment? I booked in advance and paid extra for my choice of seat to accommodate my large frame.

 

[Maverick1950]

Yes. The airlines (at least Delta) certainly act as if it is in the interest of passengers to check in online. They even give you the option of checking in online but not printing out your boarding pass until you get to the airport.

 

[MBaneACP]

I haven't had that issue with United, who are generally pretty good with guns. Ironically, the only exception is United at the Phoenix airport...weird for the biggest airport in the biggest "gun state" in America. I have had my Storm Cases declared "unsuitable" as a gun case, pretty strange for cases that have close to 250,000 miles on them carrying guns. The desk clerk's explanations on why the case wasn't a gun case was like hearing Diana DeGette explain high-capacity magazines. Eventually, I made them read United's policy out loud, and "under protest" they checked my case...

Michael B

 

[NavyLCDR]

I asked about this when I checked in at the airport, and they said that my reservation must have been flagged because I had declared a firearm on the outbound flight. As a result, although I was TSA Precheck on the outbound flight, I was not on the return flight, even though other family members, whose tickets were booked separately, were Precheck in both directions. The Precheck line was much shorter, and I am pretty ticked about this.

1. Did you pay extra for TSA Precheck? If so, I would find out about getting a refund. You paid your fee, you were approved to use Precheck and they denied it's use even though you did not do anything to disqualify yourself.

http://www.tsa.gov/press/releases/2...ation-process-tsa-precheck-more-options-apply

The TSA Pre✓™ Application Program requires a background check, fingerprints, and an application fee of $85 for a five-year membership. Once approved, travelers will receive a Known Traveler Number (KTN) and will have the opportunity to utilize TSA Pre✓™ lanes at security checkpoints at more than 100 participating airports and on nine major U.S. airlines.

The legal items you declare/check in with your checked luggage in no way should disqualify you from TSA precheck. You followed the rules. You declared an item that you had in your checked baggage because you knew that is where it was supposed to go instead of trying to take it through the security checkpoint.

2. Is it up to the airline to decide who gets to use Precheck and who doesn't?

 

[Maverick1950]

Some airlines, including Delta, have some sort of arrangement with TSA under which some (all?) of their frequent flier passengers (at least at certain airports) are denominated as Precheck. I didn't pay for the status, so there is no issue about a refund. I have a feeling that my problem was a Delta issue rather than a TSA issue. Because I was dealing with Delta people, I would have expected them to point the finger at TSA if TSA had been responsible.