[ponygirl]

I am assuming that somewhere in the small print on your ticketing agreement that you have forfeited that fourth amendment.

[justlurking]

Nope, not on American Airlines. I looked.

I’ll post a URL when I get home.

[justlurking]

I am assuming that somewhere in the small print on your ticketing agreement that you have forfeited that fourth amendment.

As promised, here it is:

American Airlines Condition of Carriage

There is a clause here that I missed: American may refuse to transport you, or may remove you from your flight at any point, for one or several reasons, including but not limited to the following:

4. Refusal to permit a search of person or property for explosives or for deadly, controlled, or dangerous weapons, articles or substances.

So, you are correct: you may be refused transport if you don't do this. But, the only penalty for non-compliance in this contract is removal from the flight, or not boarding in the first place.

At no point are you explicitly consenting to a search in advance.