Flying without female ID, what's your experience?

Comment by Daphne Prideaux-Tchknski on April 14, 2012 at 2:05pm

Bree, and anyone else ~~ have you read http://kimberlyhuddle.blogspot.com/ titled, "Traveling Transgendered - What's it like to travel the country cross dressed?"

Kimberly travels for work by air frequently en femme, altho she's not employed en femme.

 

Comment by Davita Farley on April 15, 2012 at 8:51am

Just follow the rules. We aren't new to the people working the processes. They have procedures and so far it's to treat you like a customer. You don't act crazy and they won't act crazy. I've flown a few times including weeks after 911. You will be fine.

Comment by Sonja Dawson on April 15, 2012 at 10:30pm

Bree,

Something you need to remember is that when you're checking in, they're going to see your male name.  If your name is something like "Robert" or "James", then it might cause a bit of confusion.  If you're not comfortable with the idea of going through security as female, then perhaps it would be best to try and change somewhere inside the terminal.  I can't really share any kind of personal experience on the subject, because my passport is female, and therefore don't have to worry about such things.  Perhaps getting a passport with you dressed for your picture would work for you, unless business or family situations prevent that.  The only time you'd really NEED a passport is for flying, and if you're ONLY going to dress as female when flying works for you, then this could be a workable solution.

Comment by Robyn Ann Jane Alice McCutcheon on April 16, 2012 at 10:10am

In October of last year I flew to and from the US from Romania and also was on two domestic flights in the US.  This was a month before my workplace transition, so my appearance was confusing at best to airport agents, passport control, and TSA.  All my experiences were positive, however, and even somewhat amusing.  You can read about them in The Odd Joys of International Travel while in Transition.  Happy travels!

Comment by Brenda English on April 16, 2012 at 10:32am

Correct me if I am wrong but you only need a passport for flying international?  Domestic flights you can use a government photo ID correct?  I always carry my passport and have not flown domestic commercial since they started to match gender with presentation. I personaly have only the one minor issue once with TSA in Detroit.

I did ask a friend who is a customer service agent (ticket giver) for Air Canada and she told me they are supposed to ensure the gender marker matches the person presented.  However when they are busy or at smaller airports like London and Windsor, they don't really pay much attention as long as name on the ID matches name on the ticket. (she never commented on the photo) It is when things don't match they start to look really close.  So who knows!  She did not say she would not issue a boarding pass though. So I think the airlines are all over the map on this one with no real standard.I do think it is easlier in Canada than the USA to travel as yourself.

If you fly on my aircraft, just bring me non airport coffee and food and I'll let you dress any way you wish!

Comment by Jessica Lynn Brooks on April 16, 2012 at 2:46pm

Personally I do not understand why anybody in transition does not get female ID. I did it the first 3 months I transitioned, drivers license, says female, and so does everything else. Of course I legally changed my name first in court, makes life much easier.Male ID of any sort does not exist for me anymore, even in the credit  bureaus. Weird thing was that I had bad credit under my male name, when the credit bureaus started getting reports in my new name , all the bad and good credit disappeared that was under my old name. I changed my name completely, even last name so they apparently never made them connection, (even with the same SS number) it was great to start with a new  clean slate.

I realize that this did no answer your question, but thought you might like to know you can change your identity before having SRS, I did and it's great. helps too if you get pulled over by the cops for any reason.

Jessica Brooks

Comment by Claire Cook on April 18, 2012 at 6:43am

Bree, I am not transitioning and have no plans to do so.  I have flown en femme several times (Delta, domestic) from various airports and my experiences mirror those of Dianne and Jennifer Anne.  I use my passport with my male ID, and have never had a problem.  (This can lead to interesting conversations with gate agents.)  Since I wear breast forms and hip padding, I'm usually flagged by the scanner and then patted down by a female TSA agent.  They have been always very courteous ("Thank you ma'am, have a nice flight.").  I think TSA agents have been trained to deal with transgenders.  One funny thing: once during the screening I happened to see the image on the scanner screen, and there was a bra... I wondered if they had set it to a female image.   In any case I completely agree with Dianne's advice.

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