Well, it might have been something else, but I can't remember what. This was a few months before I got a credit card.
(incidentally, this was a very famous issue of the Bell System Technical Journal. I still have it. It's online here now (but about 200MB:
In the 1950s it was 10 GBP, which effectively made foreign holidays impossible for those that had to stick to the rules. And people were indeed occasionally searched at airports for smuggled sterling.
In message snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, at 15:52:59 on Tue, 16 Jun 2026, Scott snipped-for-privacy@gefion.myzen.co.uk> remarked:
Yes, I explained my requirement to the British Caledonian staff at the check-in desk, and they arranged for 0ne of their minibuses to take me airside to the US customs people in a different terminal, do the paperwork, and then back to the aircraft for the return leg to the UK.
That was when airlines understood what the concept of "customer service" meant.
In message <110rv2m$18fc6$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, at 17:53:42 on Tue, 16 Jun
2026, The Natural Philosopher snipped-for-privacy@invalid.invalid remarked:
I worked for six months in the late 90's as a contractor for a UK subsidiary of a US company, and not only did they employ Americans for six months at a time on tourist visa-waivers, they always brought a brand new laptop with them which they left behind at the end of the six months.
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