Letters: Big fans of Cody, Wyo.

Just a small disagreement

Great job by Christopher Reynolds [“Elk, Blowups and Cowboys,” July 25]. He captured a lot of the essence of Cody, Wyo. Of course, our perspectives are slightly different. He thinks of Cody as “tiny,” while I term it “my favorite city.”

Paul D. Butler, Hyattville, Wyo.

An airline fee what-if for fliers

Regarding “A Fee Onslaught” [On the Spot, July 25]: What if nobody chose the seat-selection option (“Do you want to sit together?”)? Imagine how crazy boarding would be with everyone asking their seatmates to switch places: “My wife is 10 rows back; would you please change places with her so we can sit together?” “Yes, but my grandma is 17 rows forward, and I want to see if someone will switch so we can sit together too.” It would take forever and mess up the coveted on-time-departure stats. Of course, it would cause problems with connection times, but they would be short-lived if this tactic caused airlines to rethink the seat-selection option.

Tricia Hay,Del Mar

I was recently changing planes at O’Hare, and I saw there was an earlier flight I might catch if I hustled for the gate. When I arrived, I was told that there was one seat but that there would be a $50 fee.

It seems like easy money in the short term, but wouldn’t it be wiser to put passengers in seats and leave openings for later flights?

Mary Beth Kelso, Los Angeles

More views on those TSA rules

Regarding Letters, July 18: I too flew out of Atlanta a few months ago. I packed three souvenir baseball bats in my carry-on after receiving assurances from Delta that they wouldn’t be an issue with the Transportation Security Administration. Upon going through the TSA line, I was told that the bats were considered weapons, and I had to give them up or try to check them as baggage. I paid $35 to check $20 worth of bats. Yet I saw passengers with canes and crutches that were more of a weapon than an 18-inch bat. When I wrote to TSA, its response was that it was up to the screener to decide what can go through. In other words, no matter what the TSA or the airlines say, in the end the screener decides. Who can blame passengers for being angry?

Raul Perez, Chino

The July 18 Travel section revealed a particularly whiny group of writers, the gist of their kvetching being that travel industry and TSA rules should not apply to them. One writer was incensed that her pet dog was not treated as a human being, and another was irked that the cheap booze he scored in duty free was confiscated during TSA screening. I also lost a bottle when going from L.A. to Venice, Italy, via Paris. I did what these travelers should have done: said to myself, “What a shame.”

Mario Valvo, Rancho Mirage