Saturday, September 20, 2008

FLYING THE FRIENDLY SKIES WITH MY SWISS ARMY KNIFE


I travel a lot and don't always remember to take out of my pocket and pack away my fabulous Midnight Manager II Swiss Army pocket knife, with the light and the pen and the flat nail file and the deadly 1 1/2" blade which apparently terrifies the FAA.
To that end, I have written the Victorinox company, which makes these wonderful tools. This is my letter:

Dear Victorinox,

I have been a faithful Victorinox Swiss Army knife user for over 20 years and do not leave the house without one in my pocket. My current favorite is the Midnight Manager II.

My current job requires a great deal of air travel and, as you can imagine, your essential tools are not welcome aboard US Airplanes. In fact, I have “lost” two knives, because I forgot to pack them. As you offer customized knives for hunters, golfers, parachutists and other specialty users, I am hopeful that you might consider a model for air travelers. This model would include:
A Light,
Compass,
Pen,
Magnifying Glass,
Tweezers, and
a Digital Clock,
none of which should threaten our friendly skies.

Thank you for your consideration.

UPDATE!
On October 14, I was surprised to receive the following response:

Dear Jim,

Thank you for contacting Victorinox Swiss Army. Thank you very much for your suggestions. I will forward your email to the appropriate department for review. We have had many suggestions regarding our pocket tools and airline requirements, so there may be a tool in our future that is 'air safe'.

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance and thank you again for contacting Victorinox Swiss Army.

Sincerely,
Aime
Victorinox Swiss Army Customer Service

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