US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Special checkpoint lanes for elite members?

I received an update from Delta yesterday about setting up special checkpoint lanes for Delta's elite members:

We will continue to do everything we can to make your travel experience a smooth and efficient one by offering special security lanes for Platinum Medallion, Gold Medallion and Crown Room Club members, and for those customers traveling in First or Business Class, or BusinessElite. We are pleased to offer these special checkpoint lanes, on a trial basis during peak times, in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, New York (JFK, LGA, and EWR) and Salt Lake City.

I've heard that AA has done something similar. Are there other airlines doing this? Any chance for US to offer special lanes for elite members?

This is the difference between me flying a lot and me not flying anymore. I'm a US Gold and I'm just not willing to stand in line behind 500 people who fly once a year.

It takes the joy out of flying.

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Jonathan Goldstein
jonathan@pobox.com
http://www.urbantechgroup.com

Darn - this would have been a good question for Mike Isom last week.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by VanillaSky:
Are there other airlines doing this?</font>UA has lines for their 1Ks at BOS, ORD, SEA, LAX, SFO and EWR

Tomorrow, Feb. 17, the Federal government will take over major airport security checks. Just hope this won't make the security check lines even longer.

US GP, CP and F can use the preferred lane at MEM concourse C. There is one standard lane and one preferred lane, security alternates letting the first person in each lane go through the one! scanner. It easily saved over an hour. I didn't see club members mention as a preferred party, but if that is the case, club memberships are going to spike.

This is something I wish U would take a close look at. I believe that CO and NW have also opened elite security lines at some of their larger stations. I am tired of waiting behind people who don't take the time to empty their pockets before hitting the metal detectors. The best reason I can think of for elite lines is efficiency -- at least we know the drill at the checkpoints.

As for the Feds taking over, I think that the Administration has a lot of political incentive to make the process run smoothly. If airport security turns into a mess, I'll start to wonder what's happening with the rest of our anti-terrorism efforts.

While I know they have not set anything in stone yet, I've been directed to the "Crew Only" queue in PIT, seemingly after the people checking ID see the preferred stamp on the BP.

Having said that, I'm wondering how long/if preferred queues will last once the feds take over.

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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

When I flew through PIT on Thursday it seemed they just abolished the crew only line -- I mozied on over to the security lane (past the ID check) which used to be crew only and no problem, and when crew who arrived afterwards tried to get in front of everyone in that line, they were told by security that 'no more' and they had to wait.. so we all waited while a completely new trainee spent about five minutes each looking at the pretty pictures on her screen...

Given the virtual "For Sale" sign that Wolf has put on the company's front lawn, I sincerely doubt that we will see any sort of customer service improvements in the near future...

There was an article in WSJ today (2/19) about Fed takeover of airport security. It mentioned that the TSA - the new Transportation Security Administration - had discontinued the use of special lanes for elite flyers. Too bad.

One interesting idea that proposed by Airports Concil International (ACI) is to have "trusted traveler" cards, issued by the government to flyers who are willing to submit to extensive background checks in exchange for faster screening at checkpoints.
WSJ mentioned that TSA was studying this idea but the TSA chief expressed reservations.

I think it is an excellent idea to have a "trusted traveler" ID for a frequent flyer.
Wondering whether we can voice our support for it.

Although the idea of a "FastPass" lane for frequent flyers is fine, the whole "trusted traveler" program doesn't sit well with me. I wouldn't mind going through the extensive background check, but I don't see why that should exempt me from stringent security. All it would do is create a loophole that "the enemy" could use against us. For example, if someone really wanted to, they could start flying every week for five years, build up a great travel history, submit to a background check, and then, with the blessing of the government, board an aircraft ready to do damage. I realize it's unlikely, but let's face it...so was Sept. 11. I have no problem flying today, but I would have big problems being in a plane with people who were not closely checked before boarding the aircraft. I would only accept equal security checks for everyone, so at that point, there's no time-saving reason for the "trusted traveler" ID.

However, if you do want to show your support for the proposal, I'm sure you could write to the administrator of the agency, and they should have a public comment period before implementing new regulations.

[This message has been edited by freqflyer2001 (edited 02-20-2002).]