Episode 44 was filmed on February 15th and marked my first time checking a firearm while flying Frontier Airlines from New Orleans to Las Vegas. Overall, the process was surprisingly quick and smooth from start to finish.
Check-In at MSY
I walked up to the counter, said my usual line that I was declaring firearms, and the agent immediately began the process. I was traveling with my Condition 1 hard-sided case, which was locked and packed inside another piece of luggage.
At first, the agent wanted the declaration tag placed inside the hard-sided case. Before finalizing that, she checked with a nearby manager, who came over and confirmed that placing the declaration form in the FedEx sleeve attached to the case was perfectly fine—especially since the firearm case was inside another piece of luggage.
Once that was sorted out, I filled out the form, placed it in the sleeve, and zipped everything up.
While reviewing the footage later during editing, I noticed something I didn’t fully catch in the moment. It sounded like another agent recognized me, which would explain why my agent suddenly said she was nervous. Even with the brief moment of humor, everything stayed professional and moved along quickly.
After Check-In
After handing over the bag, I set my usual 15-minute timer before heading to security, just in case TSA needed to inspect the case further. No one called me back, and I continued through security without any issues.
Arrival in Las Vegas
After landing in Las Vegas, I went to baggage claim where my luggage came out on the regular carousel. Since the hard-sided case was packed inside normal luggage, that’s exactly where it was expected to arrive. I grabbed my bag and was on my way.
Final Thoughts
For a first experience checking a firearm with Frontier Airlines, this trip couldn’t have gone much smoother. Even with a small moment of confusion about where the declaration form should go, the staff verified the correct process and everything stayed quick and easy.
Another reminder that when everyone understands the policies—and you stay organized—the process works just like it should.
I fly Southwest with various weapons and ammo. Depending on how I pack my luggage, sometimes the gate agent pages me and asks for the key to my bag for the inspector to go deeper into my bag.
I ALWAYS refuse to hand over my key and tell the agent I will ACCOMPANY you to the TSA inspection point. They almost always refuse this, saying it is not permitted. I then tell them I ALWAYS do this (I have for the last 25 years so I KNOW it IS permitted, no matter which airline I use) and I will stand outside the inspection point so I can OBSERVE the TSA inspector through the window in the door. I also say that I DO NOT TRUST ANY OF THEM, after hearing so many stories of how inspectors steal personal items, one of which happened to me.
Anyway, we trudge down into the bowels of the building and I hand my key to the inspector and watch.
I always travel with a HALLIBURTON ALUMINUM SUITCASE (I have NEVER seen anyone else with one of these so it is easy to locate my bag). One time the inspector closed my case and let a garment hang out of it. I got his attention and told him to pack the exposed garment back into the case. He didn’t really care. That’s how they are.
One time I traveled with 9 boxes of 9mm ammo (I was going to a training course and took my own reloads) and knowing how they beat the bags up, I taped all 9 boxes together into a BLOCK in the case.
I got paged.
The inspector explained that their XRay showed an opaque block and they wanted to inspect it. I told him why I did this and dug into the block with HIS knife and extracted a round of ammo. He was satisfied and all was good at that point.
I ALWAYS put a gun in my baggage (Sometimes it’s an expensive gun, while other times it’s a cheap piece of CREP) just so I can lock it since years ago something was stolen from my unlocked bag (TSA requirement, but I found THIS loophole and always use it to my advantage). But with a gun in the bag, it SHALL be locked. Since then I’ve never lost anything from my baggage.
Roger, you are right to not just hand over your keys… FAA regulations are that THEY MAY NOT access your case without you PRESENT – and states that you are NOT to hand over your keys to your NON-TSA LOCKS (must NOT be tsa lock)… I tell my customers to hit the FAA website, AND the airlines, and print out their respective regulations/rules.
I’ve also had them ask for my keys, and I refused, explained FAA regs, and just got walked in the inspection area, past the ‘no entry’ signs… Opened my case for them and let them do their thing.