Home » Reviews » Travel from Boston Logan Airport After September 11th
Last updated: 2001.10.14
John's Logan Airport Story
Well my experience was a little less exciting then PK's and Mark's. Because I hate being late and feeling that extra pressure and stress about maybe missing my flight, I decided to get to the airport early to beat the crowd. My flight was for 4:55 and boarding was to begin at 4:05. I'm not sure why they give you a time like 4:05, when they never begin to board on time. Why don't they just say, "sometime after 4:00, but before the time the plane actually leaves". So I walked into the Terminal E building at 1:30 and raced over to the Lufthansa check-in. Got to the business class line just in time to see a couple finish their transaction and then I walked up to the counter. Obviously it was a good thing I got there when I did. Whew! So after the woman thanked me for arriving so early and not being like most being class travelers that arrive at the last minute... Actually she said "thanks for not pulling an O'Brien". Now, I've played a little golf and I know what a Mulligan is, so I just assumed this was something along the same line as that. An O'Brien must be someone that arrives at the last minute but is allowed on the plane anyway. I have no idea where the term Mulligan or O'Brien comes from, but oh well.
So anyway after I checked in (total time from door to done check-in, 10 minutes), I asked her what time should I go through the security gate. She said it changes from day to day but they recommend that I get there at 3:30 for the 4:55 flight. So I head to the Lufthansa lounge and hang out for almost 2 hours. Of course if Logan had the lounges inside the security area, I could do the security now, go to the lounge and then head to the gate at the boarding time, but oh well.
So after my 2 hours of reading email etc. in the lounge I head to the security gate, passing as many people as possible along the way so I won't have to be behind them in line. Always thinking. Of course the night before I went through my computer bag (the only think I am carrying) and removed the little knife that I always carry, my nail clipper, paper clasp that could easily be made into a weapon and anything that I didn't think would get by the tight security. When I got to the security line I was about 10th in line. Good thing I past those two guys on the way from the lounge or I would have been twelfth. There was a new set-up at this point. There was a guy handing out the little plastic bins for your keys and change before you got to the gate and someone checking your passport again. So I but my watch and 15 cents in the bin and carried it over to the x-ray belt. Put my bag and my bin on the belt, walk through the metal detector, picked up my 15 cents, watch and bag and went to the gate. No one checked anything in my bag. I couldn't believe it. I was all prepared for nothin'. So then I went to the gate and hung out for another hour. At the gate was the first time a saw in the U.S. military personnel walking around with guns. Then sometime after 4:00 but before the plane left I got onto the plane. Another change was when you handed in your boarding pass, they were checking passports again and in the ramp on the way to the plane, they were randomly searching people as they walked to the plane. No one even looked at me. BTW, I did notice that the security lines did get heavy about 1/2 before the flight left. The plane took off about 1/2 late, but we arrived about 1/2 early in Frankfurt. I was the third person from our plane to the passport check in Frankfurt, got the baggage claim about 5 minutes after getting off the plane, waiting about 15 minutes for my bag, got to a taxi and was at the hotel at 6:00 a.m. The best time I ever made. But all in all, I did not feel any safer then I did the last time I flew.
Well that's my story.