<p>When I flew to SF last week, I got to go thru the express line at Security-why now? Because I am 60 years old? I didn’t have to take off my shoes, and I was through in 3 minutes! Does anybody know why? It was great!</p>
<p>Who knows?! I think I get more than my share of “pat-downs” because of my underwire bras.</p>
<p>They have been rolling out the new version of the TSA pre-screen line. If you are a frequent flyer on an airline that participated then you can get a note on your boarding pass that lets you go thrpugh the “express” line. IT states “TSA Pre-Screen”. It is not guaranteed that you will always get it on your boarding pass unless you pay the $85 to enroll in the program.</p>
<p>How funny! H and I and two kids are flying out tomorrow morning and Hs and Ds boarding passes have the TSA PRECHK on it. NONE of us are frequent flyers or have paid the $$ to complete the screening. I had no idea what that meant when I saw it as it printed out.</p>
<p>Me! I get it I assume because I’m a very frequent flyer (in excess of 200K*miles/year). So great to be able to pack carry on and choose shoes for the flight without obsessive attention to what will trigger the pat down or slip off/on quickly. Except of course when you are returning from an overseas trip you don’t get the pass coming back. OTOH screening not nearly so rigorous overseas, no shoes off etc.</p>
<p>*every one of those miles either white knuckled or sedated, but that’s a whole 'nother thread.</p>
<p>I have it tomorrow. I’m flying business select on Southwest.</p>
<p>If someone in your party is in a wheelchair, the whole group gets to use the express line. This was a big help while I was traveling with my mother over Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>I’ve won the TSA pre-check lottery about 4 times this year (travel about 10 times per year). I asked a TSA agent why, and she told me it was totally random, in an attempt to introduce the voluntary paid program. It makes sense if it is targeted to those who travel a little more frequently. Either way, I do like it. The actual process is not that much different (shoes on, laptop in, etc.), but the lines can be MUCH shorter. However, if a lot a passengers decide to join the program, I’m wondering if the lines will truly be any shorter in the future.</p>
<p>I don’t get the logic here. Either the security measures are necessary, or they aren’t. Anyone care to offer a rationale?</p>
<p>“I’m wondering if the lines will truly be any shorter in the future.”</p>
<p>They probably will be shorter due to shorter per passenger screening time. It takes a few seconds to take off the shoes, a few seconds to go through the scanner (pre-check folks do not have to be microwaved), a few seconds to take the coat - it all adds up to the average per passenger time.</p>
<p>I think TSA does not do random acts of kindness. At least for us, there is a pattern . Tomorrow Mr B will get his red X mark on the boarding pass, but I will not. :)</p>
<p>Did you guys notice how quickly the infamous x-ray scanners disappeared from the airports? Yeah, sure, it was all because of the imaging software. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Me! TSA pre-check all the way. Plus global entry enabling me to skip customs and immigration. I went through an interview at O’Hare to get global entry.</p>
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<p>For Global Entry and Nexus programs, there’s an interview and background checks involved in the application process. These have been in existence for quite some time and the lines are always shorter both at airports and at land crossings into and out of Canada. No comparison, really. The rationale is to select individuals who have been vetted and interviewed, and who are at a low risk of breaking the rules that these programs require. If you do break a rule, then your status is withdrawn and you’re likely causing yourself grief at any future crossing or trip where you have to go through customs.</p>
<p>I have Pre-check because I have Global Entry. LOVE it! So nice not to have to take off shoes or sweaters/jackets. And, depending on how the airport is set up, I don’t have to stand in the winding lines and I’m through in a couple of minutes.</p>
<p>I got a brochure for one for one of these programs, I think Global Entry, with my new passport when it came in the mail last week (!!!). I didn’t know there was such a thing. We were considering it, but since we only fly once or twice a year and may not ever fly internationally again after the honeymoon (who knows?) we didn’t think it would be worth the trouble… maybe they wouldn’t give any kind of pre-screening option to us anyway because we don’t fly enough.</p>
<p>With the exception of going through security at SEATAC on our way back to Detroit last year, we have not spent more than a minute or two going through security in years. I am still getting to airports 3+ hours early expecting to spend the majority of that time in security (like I remember doing in the early 2000s) only to end up at the gate 10 minutes after walking through the door. But if I didn’t have to go through as much at security it would sure make me happier… it’s completely irrational but I always get so nervous and upset when I go through, and I am always afraid they will pick up on it and it will arouse suspicion, which then makes me more irrationally nervous and upset!</p>
<p>TSA Pre-check and Global Entry are two different programs, for those who are unfamiliar. TSA Pre-check is about going through airport security in US airports - shuttling you to a line where you don’t have to take off coat / shoes, take laptop out, etc. but you just walk through like the good ol’ days. Global Entry is about coming back into the US in your first port of entry and not having to wait in the immigration / customs lines.</p>
<p>So if I am going to Sweden this summer, will I get Global Entry? Also, I never paid any fees for the TSA program.</p>
<p>My son paid $100 for TSA pre-screening and global access and is currently waiting for his interview at the airport he lives near. He is so excited, his new job requires a lot of travel and he’s happy to fork over the cash (it is good for 5 years apparently). He’s only been working in the ‘real world’ for 5 months and he’s already sick of air travel and all its headaches!</p>
<p>I was randomly selected to got through the fast check line last week. Didn’t have to take off shoes, etc. No special reason, I dropped DH and some others off, returned the rental van, and one of my sons and I went through the security check later. The first group got the regular security treatment, and I was directed to the fast check, my son was a few steps behind me and was directed to a different check, but when he said he was with me, he was allowed to change over. It took us literally a minute to get through which was very nice. I don’t think it was my age or any other factor that gave me the privilege, and there were young people in my group as well. It appeared pretty much random and my boarding pass was not even in the picture for selection.</p>
<p>It still seems to me that if we assume the post-9/11 security measures are necessary at all, pre-check screening makes no sense. If a terrorist organization wanted to do something, you don’t think they could find someone capable of passing an interview and background check? </p>
<p>To me, it just sounds like a great way for the airline to make money.</p>
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And this disturbs me (even though I won the lottery last week and did the precheck line). How can they assume that their “random” check won’t send a hijacker through?</p>
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Yup.</p>