Usually landing in your home airport, no matter how rough the trip and how late at night, is a great feeling. A few years back, however, I had a horrible experience that led to a new travel habit. I had a nightmare trip...5 cities in 3 days with a stack of conference calls to further complicate things. There was bad weather with travel delays across the country. My airline had screwed up my flights as well, so I had middle seats all the way home. I arrived at 3AM, totally wiped out. In Austin, TX, the airport is deserted by 10PM, so there was literally no one around, save a couple TSA guys. I reached my car in the parking garage only to discover I had lost my keys somewhere during the trip. Because my travel routine doesn't require me to use my keys (my car, house, and office are far away :-) ), I never noticed.
The consequences were pretty painful that night. The cabs were all gone, and I had to call one. It was a $100 cab ride home arriving at almost 5AM. I had to bribe a friend to pick me up and drive me to the airport the next morning to pick up my car.
My solution? I now pack my keys. When I arrive at the airport and am in line for security, instead of throwing my keys in a bin or bowl and sending it through xray, I clip them on a key hook in my bag. All of my various pieces of luggage and laptop cases have one. When I pull my carry on from the overhead bin as I land at my home airport, I unclip the keys and drop them in my pocket.
This has a few benefits. In addition to ensuring my keys aren't misplaced, it also means my pockets are less full. This helps since rental car agencies seem intent on providing you with multiple copies of your rental car keys, in addition to one or two remote door lock fobs and a rental car agency branded key chain the size of a coffee mug.
I learned to do the same thing. Not Austin at 3AM learned, but definitely learned.
As soon as I lock my car doors, I drop the keys into a zip bag that that holds my wallet and other personal items I don't want to leave at security. I keep my driver's license, elite card, and credit card in a pocket, but everything else is safe in a bag waiting for me to clear TSA.
Posted by: BC | August 29, 2007 at 06:25 PM
Ha! I do the same thing when I get out of my car. I just keep my drivers license and credit card (for the kiosk). Any particular reason for the elite card as well?
Everything else drops in the airport security pocket of my bag. This is a cool feature of a lot of new bags on the market. They hae a quick access zipper pocket in the top that gives you easy access to the things that were in your pockets (iPhone, bluetooth headset, wallet, iPhone earbuds for me). I really wanted to do a videocast of my bag instead of a blog post, but I guess I'll break down and write it up on this trip.
Posted by: Erik Huddleston | August 30, 2007 at 07:52 AM
I use an Eagle Creek zippered quart bag to hold the electronic stuff (headphones, headset, nav system). I like the quart bag because I can pull it out when I get to the rental car (or to the airport club) without completely unpacking. It also keeps everything neat and contained. I use two quart bags with those plastic zippers for the toiletries -- one for the liquids one for the toothbrush and razor. Finally, I keep one empty zippered bag to hold receipts.
I carry the elite card and/or the airline club card because many airports will let you move through the line faster with one. It doesn't always have to match your ticket, nor does it always have to be on the official list. Most checkers don't know what airlines or elite levels are 'approved' and they'll wave most anything through.
Posted by: BC | August 30, 2007 at 09:52 PM
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