It's like throwing a party and no one shows up. Airport Friendly Shoes should have become the next TravelPro, instead they are a product without a market.
Alas and alack, airport friendly shoes have not gotten the traction they deserve, and they don't seem to be on anyone's radar screen. If wearing airport friendly shoes would guarantee that I wouldn't have to remove my shoes going through security, I'd buy a pair in a heart beat.
It's a pet peeve. I hate taking off my shoes to go through security. It's not terrible in the winter when I have socks, but when you have to go barefoot, it's disgusting. At least the airport could supply foot wipes after they've made you walk on a floor that is obviously filthy.But, of course they don't.
Standing in line to go through security yesterday in Seattle,the gentlemen with the British accent was telling his companion that he had just been to a store where they had a section called, "airplane friendly shoes"-- the concept is that these shoes don't have the metal shanks in the sole and can allow you to go through security without taking your shoes off.
I was making a mental note--go shoe shopping.
As the man was getting ready to disrobe, he was lamenting he had not purchased this item which held the promise of a hassle-free excursion through the metal detectors.
As people are wont to do when standing in line, the gentlemen in front of the British couple held up his high tech red running shoes and said, " it doesn't matter, they still make you take your shoes off."
With that the red shoe guy bent his shoes, demonstrated that the bottoms were clear so you see right through them. He shook his head sadly again saying, ' you still have to take them off."
The airport friendly shoes are a product that should have become as successful as rolling suitcases: they solve a consumer problem, they save everyone time, aggravation, embarrassment, and hopefully they are incredibly comfortable..
However, airport friendly shoes seem to be grounded before they've had a chance to take off. In order to find their market, they have to deliver on their promise. And to do that, the security people have to allow people to decide for themselves whether they want ot risk having their shoes set off the alarms.
They allow me to decide whether to keep on my jewelry --sometimes I set off the alarm and have to go through the system twice, sometimes I don't-- so why not reward folks who go through the effort of purchasing metal-free shoes and allow them to keep their shoes on?
If that policy existed, I would almost guarantee that we would see sales of the airport friendly shoes soar.
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