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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: [QB] Regarding the air transport segment of the journey, that too was eventful. The Denver RTD airport bus (Route AF) left 17th & Market 1225 got to DIA in about an hour. Along the way, I got to view the new trolley cars (whoops Light Rail) that Denver now has. KDEN Denver simply has more airport that it will ever be able to support. Sure it is nice, but it appears to be about a White Elephant to the same extent as the Terminal's "faux Rocky Mountains" appear to a traveler. Lest we forget, this is go home day after a holiday weekend, and while I won't say the place was deserted, it appeared to have capacity to spare. TSA formalities were an over and done in less than ten minutes (they nailed a corkscrew I had with me needed for private stock on Amtrak). I'm horrified to see airline employees as demoralized as some I encountered; I guess once it was a glamour job, don't think so anymore. Riding the little trains there, a uniformed woman (thirtyfivesomething, good looking) American First Officer helped me find the Southwest Gate area. I said "sorry for trading with the enemy", "There are no enemies here, we're all airmen, we help each other out" (which I thought was a nice answer). But she opened the door for conversation with me asking if she was able to hold on? "No I'll be furloughed by September; there's no way I can hold on with my six years" "Can you get on with with your commuter carrier Eagle?" "No they're whacking over there as well, it is a separate list and a separate Union...and they don't love us all that much". "Is there anywhere you can go to fly planes for a living?" "Every so often, there is an opening in General Aviation (by now she was comfortable I was knowledgable of air transport industry affairs and am not some kind of a company "weedwacker") but guess who else are chasing them? There is a cargo carrier in Lithuania with openings, and I could still keep my date, and maybe become Captain if I went over there, but my family is from Dallas.....guess I'll just be a stay at home Mom until I get recalled". It ended with my "thanks Dear, for being so candid with me, I wish you the best of luck"...and it was over. SWA (or WN their IATA Code) too can have delays, and in this instance weather related. All told they were two hours (and a $25 bar tab for me); those thunderheads looked, to say the least, "mean". I don't blame SWA at all - no one else does either. But what I DO blame them for is how they have turned the flight safety briefing into some kind of Saturday Night Live skit. I do not think it funny when a Flight Attendant jumps out from behind the forward bulkhead with the demo seat belt wrapped around his head like a headband. True the belt was Blue....but what if it were Red? Just stow it....and keep the briefing straightforward. I continue to be astounded at how many passengers insist upon wearing flip flops or equivalent. While because of the TSA drill, I have backed away from laced shoes, I would like to think that if there were to be a "survivable" incident in which the hull stayed intact (SWA had one such if I properly recall at KBUR during 2K; BA recently had such at EGLL) I would want solid footwear in which to be able to "run like the devil" and not be injured by debris at the scene. But some of these young twentysomething adults, gender notwithstanding, obviously do not share my thoughts on this one. So much for air transport matters. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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