| A
few days ago, I got back from what was one of the most 'interesting' (for
lack of a better word) shooting trips (San Remo, Italy---Helice Grand
Prix) that I have ever been on. It was definitely a learning experience so
I thought I'd share part of it with you guys
Because of the way that my final exam schedule
works out and that A&M has a 'dead week' the last week of classes in which
most of them are cancelled, I had about 11 days that I didn't particularly
have to be at school. Coincidentally, during that time, the San Remo,
Italy, helice Grand Prix was scheduled. I hadn't ever shot at San Remo and
had heard great things about it (the gun club is on the beach and you
can't shoot at the gun club during the summer because there are too many
sailboats! It's an amazingly gorgeous view from the clubhouse). So with
not much effort on my part, I had convinced my professors and my parents
that it was a good idea for me to go to San Remo---it wouldn't interefere
with school at all, I would be able to take all of my finals when I got
back, there was enough time to get all of the paperwork done, it wasn't
tourist season so ticket and hotel prices were reasonable.....
I delegated the task of acquiring plane tickets to my personal assistant
(known to most of you as my mother). We typically fly American Airlines.
When she was making the reservations, I requested that she call AA to make
sure that everything was OK to travel with my gun (we were aware that they
had made some policy changes in September and didn't want to have any
problems). So she called to make the reservations and talked to 2
different agents. One told her that there had been no change in policy and
that the procedure was "the same as it always has been: you pay $110 to
travel with a firearm no matter where you're going." (Note: I have never
paid $110 to AA to travel with a firearm.) The second agent told us that
the policy that had changed was being able to bring a firearm into the
United Kingdom and that AA was no longer doing that. She did however, tell
us that it was OK to travel through the UK with a firearm (if the baggage
was checked to the final destination) and proceeded to book our
reservations from D/FW to London Heathrow to Nice, France (the closest
airport to the gun club). So we were good to go.
Until we got to the airport. And a friendly little agent at AA looked on
his little screen as he was typing information in and told us that we
would not be able to travel through the UK with a firearm because it was
against their policy. We explained to him that the agent who booked our
reservations told us that it would not be a problem and that she was fully
aware that we were traveling with a firearm through the UK. The man at the
airport told us that he was sorry, but it was against their policy---and
that we were the second customers in the past 6 days who had been told the
wrong information by AA Reservations. Thank you, AA. He then booked us on
a flight with a different carrier---we took an American flight to Newark,
then switched to British Airways (because they do allow guns to be carried
through the UK), then to Heathrow, then to Nice. So....problem solved and
we're on the way!
But not exactly. We get to Newark and are supposed to re-ticket since we
changed to BA. We go to the ticket desk, get the tickets, make sure
they're aware that one of our pieces of luggage is a firearm. And they
nearly spaz out. Apparently, they need to re-check the firearm case and
fill out some additional paperwork (I'm not sure if you're aware or not,
but the UK has massively different firearms regulations than the
US---licensing/permit information was what they wanted). Anyway, we got
that paperwork filled out (of which the agent had no clue what he was
doing: he used the serial number on my gun as the 'permit number'), and
caught the airplane--barely. We made it to Heathrow.....and the only
problem we had there was that our flight to Nice was cancelled and we had
to wait 4 hours to catch the next one. Got to Nice---stopped by the police
station on the way through customs to find out if my gun would go straight
to the police station from the plane or if I needed to pick it up and if
it needed to be registered in France. Nope, not a problem, no paperwork
necessary for them. So we go to the baggage carousel to pick everything
up.
And nothing comes. No gun, no suitcases (I had 1 suitcase with my clothes
and some shooting stuff, another bag with shooting equipment and clothes,
and mom's suitcase was missing). So we go to the lost baggage counter. The
lady there tracks 2 of our bags---one (the firearm) they can locate, and
one suitcase was in Newark still (but we had no idea which one). The other
two were still missing. But we'd be able to get at least 2 the next day.
So we proceed to our hotel in Nice and they tell us they'll call and
deliver the suitcases the next day. Next afternoon, they called to say
that all of our baggage had arrived and would be at the hotel between 3
and 7; so our plan was to drive to San Remo after it got there. At 9:15,
my gun and mom's suitcase arrived at the hotel.
So to recap at this point: We left D/FW early in the morning on December
1. It's now 9:15 on December 2nd (and factor in a 6 hour time change). I
hadn't had a whole lot of sleep, I'm wearing the same clothes, none of my
luggage is with me in FRANCE (with the exception of the gun, which I am
thankful for, but if it didn't have so much paperwork attached to it, I
think it would have been lost as well), and I am not exactly what you
would call a happy camper. And it's late enough that the lost baggage
people are no longer in the office. So we stayed in Nice another day to
wait on my luggage. The number that we were given with the lost baggage
information was either busy or they didn't answer for the majority of the
next day. When we finally did talk to them, they still had no idea where
my suitcases were or when I would get them---but that it would be 'soon.'
We decided to go ahead and drive to San Remo (at this point, we had gone
shopping and I at least had some different clothes).
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The Grand Prix event was about to start. I
didn't have my vest, my shooting glasses, my earplugs, my visor, or any of
the other things that make me comfortable when I'm shooting. And that's
pretty frustrating for a person who is organized and likes to have things
'just so' every time. As many of you know, I've been working on my mental
program (firm believer in Lanny Bassham's Mental Management System)---and
not having my stuff was definitely a new challenge for me to work on in
the confidence area.
After multiple, multiple calls to BA, I received my luggage on the
afternoon of December 8. I hadn't seen it since the 1st. We were halfway
through the Grand Prix competition by that point. I had found a Beretta
store in San Remo and gotten a pair of earplugs (the soft, silicone rubber
kind....nearly had a heart attack when I found out they were 17 euros!).
When my luggage hadn't shown up after 2 days, I called Chris Potter in
England and he made sure to bring anything else that I might need (THANK
YOU.....the people in the shooting community are fantastic). The silver
lining to this story is that I didn't have much laundry to do when I got
home.All in all, I shot respectably
(the sole representative of the US--whoop!; and there were only 4 Brits at
this event, so the English speaking nations were in the minority). The
range was awesome (if I knew how to post pictures, I would....). Everyone
I met was friendly and willing to help in whatever way possible. The
weather was nice. It was a great experience and fun to see 'old friends'
from around the world. There were about 160 shooters. Oh! I got
interviewed for Italian TV---I bet that was hilarious!
Coming home, every flight I was supposed to be on was delayed, but I did
eventually get back home (with all of my luggage!) and back to College
Station by 4:30 am, and was in class to take my first final at 8:00am.
So some things I learned from this trip:
***It is unlikely to have more than one representative from an airline
company give you the same information regarding 'traveling with firearms'
requirements. And even if they do, it could be wrong. My question here is:
HOW are we supposed to know this?
***Even if you pack your bags with your equipment spread out so that
you'll have some of it in case one of your bags doesn't show up----it's
all a wasted effort if NONE of your bags show up.....
***It's not OK to get mad at your mom for asking questions....even if they
are stupid questions like 'Do you have any safety pins?' I don't know what
the right answer to that would have been, but apparently it wasn't "Woman,
I don't have any of my luggage.....WHAT makes you think that I would have
a spare box of safety pins in my pocket?"
***The aquarium in Genova is the largest in Europe. And the seals and
penguins are pretty cool.
***The people I've met while shooting are wonderful and I am very
fortunate to have the opportunity to associate with such great people. Ten
years ago, I never could have imagined the journey that shooting would
take me on---the experiences I've been able to have, the things I've
gotten to see and do, the people I've met. It's been truly incredible.
the part that's frustrating for me---is
that even after talking to the carrier (in this case, AA), I still didn't
get the 'correct' information! All of the information I have gotten
recently has been very inconsistent. The man from AA who I actually talked
to at the airport said that the only country that AA was no longer
carrying firearms to or through was the UK. (So in essence, I wouldn't
have had a problem if my layover hadn't been in the UK--as is referenced
in a further explanation of my trip home in the next paragraph).
When I was flying back through Paris (from Nice to Paris to Dallas,
[missed the Dallas flight, so it was from Paris to Chicago to Dallas; At
this point I was flying Air France from Nice to Paris, then American the
rest of the way]), I had to be taken down into the luggage part of the
airport to identify my gun case (I'm wearing a fluorescent vest and
everything)---to put the AA firearms declaration in my case (because Air
France didn't require/have one). But the man I talked to while on that
field trip told me that if I hadn't done that, they would have sent my gun
back to Nice and there was no telling what I would have had to do to get
it back.
As far as paperwork and permits for travel: each country I've been to has
been different (referring here to mostly Spain, Portugal, Italy, France
[where paperwork/permits required] . I always contact the gun club that
I'll be shooting at and request their assistance as far as finding out
what information I need to get and complete. Most of the time, an
invitation letter from them is sufficient to show the police in the
country that you arrive in and fill out the paperwork to have it
'registered' in their country (some places require a deposit, some
don't....sometimes I think it just depends on what member of the police
force you get to talk to and what kind of mood they're in at the
time....).
BUT, the UK is way different.....I know you must obtain a Visitor's Permit
for your gun and that process does take some time, so I'd be sure to allow
several weeks for that. I can't entirely recall the exact process; I know
that the last one I had done I sent serial number, gun info, etc. and they
also wanted verification of membership of a gun club or shooting club in
the US....and I don't remember what else. The permit is valid for a year,
though. I would imagine that the gun club or organizing committee would be
willing/able to provide what information is necessary and who you go to in
order to get the permit. |
