Here I am in Tampa...

I'm sitting the US Airways lounge at the Tampa airport, the sun is beaming inside and it's HOT AS HELL in here, but I’ve got a great view of the runway.. My original flight was supposed to take me back to Toronto through Washington, DC arriving home at 10:30pm. Due to US Customs racially profiling me and registering me for the NSEERS program, I have to do what is called a "Special Registration Departure". The process for this departure involves me going to a specified customs office so that I can register leaving the country. This has to be done on the last leg of my trip.

It's essentially a way for the government to keep track of my wherabouts. The 80 times I’ve entered the USA, 70 times I've been registered for this program. Sometimes in the most ridiculous manner I've been registered and then reported departing by the same agent at the same time. Why bother registering me?? As one agent told me once, it’s a bullshit program. I couldn’t agree more.

Anyway, this isn't my beef, the problem I’ve got is that at DCA (the nation's capital) there isn't a US Customs departure registration station. I’d have to take a cab to Dulles and back, with only 2 hours between flights I’d miss my flight and have to take the next flight out in the morning.

Due to this issue, I've had to change my flight to go to an airport that has this departure station and of course, this change is billed to my account and not US Customs. I initially thought of ignoring them but that would land me in jail on my next trip. So to be a good citizen I’m going to follow the American law. After explaining my plight to the agent, she took sympathy on me and made the changes for me at no cost. I was lucky that weather issues in the Northeastern USA allowed her to use that excuse to make the change. I am deeply indebted to her.

I now get home at 11:42pm. It's not a big deal, I've bought a club pass and will hang out and smoke a cigar in the charlotte lounge.

Several months ago I ripped on US Airways, but the past few weeks of traveling I've noticed a sensible increase in the way US staff are treating their customers. I'm still not working on top tier status, simply because of the no perks, but as far as airlines go, I’m happy I’m with US…at the moment.