Greg Farris wrote in
:

Certainly, the fact tht you have to just about strip naked to get on a
plane today, and you have to wait for hours as everyone else does the

If you know the rules, the process of going through security at the
airlines is not that different than it was 10 years ago. You take your
computer and put it in a tray. You take your ziploc of shaving cream and
toothpaste samples and put it in a tray, with your phone and your wallet
and your shoes, and walk through the metal detector. It's really not all
that complicated. And taking off your shoes isn't quite stripping naked.

The problem is there are still way too many people who either don't know
the rules, or don't care, causing the lines to be unusually long and
increasing the time required to get to the airport to ensure you'll get
through in time. Just the other day, my associate related to me this
experience from earlier in the week as he went through security at EWR:

Walking down the lanes to the security counter, they stop everyone and
remind them to put their liquids in ziplocks, which they offer.

A woman about 4 ahead of him put her bag on the belt. "Is this your bag?"
Sure enough the TSA officer pulls out a 20oz bottle of shampoo and another
of conditioner. As the line comes to a standing halt, he explains to the
woman that she can't bring these on the plane. Several minutes pass by as
she objects, and he continues to tell her she can either forfeit them or go
and check them. Finally, she decides to go and check them.

The next woman in the line has a very similar conversation with the
security officer about her makeup... And similarly, the 3rd woman in the
line.

By the time the fourth woman in the line gets there and starts her , he
wants to yell at her and ask her if she was sleeping for the last 10
minutes while the 3 woman in front of her just went through the same thing.

By contrast, I flew on a USAir Shuttle from LGA. The USAir Shuttle has a
separate security line that rarely has long lines. The people who take the
USAir Shuttle are typically flying back and forth on a regular basis, and
so they know the rules and know the procedures.

They have their laptops in their hands before they get to the tray tables,
and they pop their stuff into the trays and make their way through. I was
through security and at my gate in about 5 minutes like "the good ole
days".

But this still doesn't change the fact that it's really hard to eek any
demonstrable utility out of private aviation today. If your calculation
includes any cost-to-benefit consideration at all then you're right out
the window. If cost is of little concern, or pleasure is great enough to
justify it, then you still have to weigh-in the time and hassle to and
from the airports - and in many cases in the US it would simply be
more convenient, as Jay says, to drive it.

It depends on how you value your time, and what you mean by private
aviation. If you are talking about spending thousands of dollars to fly on
a chartered jet, you're probably right. But quite frankly, I frequently
save both time and money as compared with the airlines when I fly in a
Bonanza (or even an Arrow) within about 500 miles from my home airport.
This is especially true when compared to commercial flights that include
multiple legs, especially when the hub is a big one that always encounters
delays - like ORD or IAD. I can't tell you how many times I missed a
connection and it cost me more hours than I care to think about. In fact,
on my return trip on Friday, I was delayed 3 hours because my connection
was through ORD was delayed. Weather was not an issue, the delay was caused
by "Air Traffic Control".

I've never had a 3 hour delay by ATC in the Bonanza....