[carlham]

I recently travelled to San Francisco with my wife on BA 285 from Heathrow.
I am a 40 year old British born male of Asian background. My wife is Caucasian. I am a doctor and this is stated on my passport.
I air travel extensively especially with British Airways and have been a BA executive member for years.
I was subjected to further security checks by BA staff prior to boarding the plane and feel this was due to racial profiling.

Prior to arriving at Heathrow, my wife and I were unable to check in online. No explanation given. At the airport we were unable to check in at the kiosks-told to contact customer services. At customer services, phone calls were made and my surname spoken phonetically. Clearly this was a problem but when we asked what the problem was, we were told it was random checks.
We checked in and passed through security without problems.

At the gate we encountered further problems by BA staff. We were escorted through the passenger ramp and just before entering the plane, the staff wanted to conduct a body and bag search on me. My wife and I asked why I was singled out and they stated it was a random BA check. This clearly was not the case. We asked another member of staff who kindly volunteered it was due to my Asian surname and the US authorities had asked for this.
I obliged to the search and this was carried out in front of boarding passengers which is wholly unprofessional. Furthermore the bag search was woefully inadequate. If they wish to carry out additional checks then carry them out. My bags were barely examined. I was asked to take off my shoes (they had been xrayed earlier by security and cleared).
The BA staff did not know what to do with the shoes and I wondered why he bothered to ask me to take them off. My wife (who was carrying the majority of the bags) insisted they searched her bags as our items were mixed. They barely glanced at her bags.

I do not mind additional security checks and indeed welcolme them when necessary but they have to be appropriately, carried out proficent and professionally. The BA staff were clearly inadequate at doing this.
There was no reason to carry out additional checks on myself and it was clear this was a case of racial profiling by BA possibly at the behest of the US authorities.

The remainder of the trip, passing through US homeland security and the return journey was uneventful. I am angered by my case of racial profiling and would love to hear your comments.