Last week, Mary Smith tried to board the Delta shuttle at Reagan National Airport for a weekend trip home to New York. Smith, a card-carrying Delta frequent flier, makes the trip several times a month during the school year. When she arrived at the shuttle gate, Smith said she handed the Delta agent her frequent flier card, her driver's license and her Georgetown ID (to verify she was eligible for the student fare). The agent took her information, typed it into the computer, then told her the airline had to obtain additional "clearance" and disappeared with Smith's identification in hand. Nearly two hours and two shuttle flights later, she said, the agents returned.
Angry, Smith demanded that the gate agent return her driver's license so she could catch the US Airways shuttle flight instead. Her name came up on the list at US Airways as well. But after a half-hour, Smith was cleared for the flight.
| _ Attention, Business Travelers _ E-mail Keith L. Alexander about your experiences, good and bad, at alexanderk@washpost.com or write to him at The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Please include your name, address, and day and evening telephone numbers.
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The airlines say they're following government rules to ensure safe flights.
But for many travelers caught up in the no-fly confusion, the best bet appears to be a slight change in how they identify themselves. Rogers said he plans to start using his middle initial for future reservations. Smith said she plans to add her middle name, Allerton, when she flies. "I guess I'll just have to start getting to the airport even earlier," she said.
TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield said using middle initials, middle names or even suffixes such as "Jr." could cut down the number of "false positives." He said the government is working on a new computer screening system called "secure flight" that seeks to eliminate the problem. The new system, Hatfield said, will allow the government to compare information from the airline reservation system against other databases to see if the passenger really matches the name on the list. The new system is expected to debut in March.
In the meantime, travelers can submit background information in exchange for a letter from the TSA that they can show airline personnel whenever they fly. To obtain that letter, travelers can visit the TSA's Web site at www.tsa.gov or call 877-266-2837.
Until the system changes, though, some travelers are likely to be stopped coming and going. Last month, St. Louis Post-Dispatch music critic Kevin Johnson said he waited a half-hour in the St. Louis airport after a Northwest Airlines agent disappeared with his passport to find out if he was the person on the government's list.
For his return flight from Toronto to St. Louis, Johnson assumed everything was cleared up. But he was stopped again at the airport. This time, he ended up missing his flight and had a two-hour wait.
"I can't imagine everyone with the name Kevin Johnson is being stopped like this," he said. "That's a lot of Kevin Johnsons being stopped."
Cheaper Seats to Atlanta: For years, the least expensive seats to Atlanta out of the Washington area departed from Dulles International Airport, thanks in large part to AirTran and, since this summer, Independence Air.
Now US Airways is promoting cheap fares to Atlanta out of Reagan National Airport. The airline is offering an introductory round-trip fare to Atlanta for $98. (Regular round-trip fares ranged from $118 with advance purchases to as much as $698 for walk-up fares.) US Airways won't be using its mainline jets for the discount service. Instead, it will be flying 72-seat Embraer planes operated by its regional partner, MidAtlantic Airways.
Tickets have to be purchased by Nov. 8, and travel must be between Feb. 6 and May 27. However, US Airways has said it could be out of business by February if the bankruptcy court doesn't approve about $950 million in cost cuts.
