Practical Travel Safety Issues - Losing my WTMD lane at SEA to Pre-check

I've been doing a lot of flying out of SEA the past couple months and I was feeling pretty good that I had found a WTMD-only lane. Checkpoint 5 at the North end of the terminal had a WTMD-only on the far left. The ceiling there is lower, so there's no room for a rapiscan, so I figured this would be good for a while.

Just found out that they're going to be trying out pre-check at SEA, and it's going to be at checkpoint 5. I don't qualify for pre-check, so that means I'm losing my lane.

Does anyone know any other way to avoid the backscatters at Seatac? A friend told me there might be a WTMD-only lane at checkpoint 1, but I haven't had a chance to check it out, and I need to fly again soon.

I'm frustrated that PreCheck is for Alaska Airlines only. Although Alaska Airlines is based here, my next trips are on United and US Airways. I do not understand why the program is airline-specific. I have Global Entry, Nexus, and I'm a platinum frequent flyer. I'm sure that the "LLLL" code could be applied to a United or US Airways boarding card.

Then again, I don't understand why it's banned for international flights. It's all so messed-up.

I'm hoping that the First Class/Premier line at the N/D checkpoint will remain WTMD only. I don't think they have room for a backscatter there anyway.

I'm frustrated that PreCheck is for Alaska Airlines only. Although Alaska Airlines is based here, my next trips are on United and US Airways. I do not understand why the program is airline-specific.

PreCheck is a revenue protection program for the airlines.

PreCheck rewards the passenger for always flying the same airline --regardless of ticket cost-- and punishes the passenger for choosing flights by price.

Over in the Delta forum, there are lots and lots and lots of posts from people who report that Delta's website charges higher fares when the website can tell the purchaser has status in Delta's FF program. Why do Delta's FFers put up with this? Easy -- they don't get PreCheck when they fly another airline.

PreCheck is a revenue protection program for the airlines.

This has been my biggest concern about precheck. It has worried me that some of the remaining WTMD lanes are going to become those for precheck only.

Precheck is also on American at SEA. I flew to JFK last week and my AA boarding pass triggered the guy to mark me off on the PreCheck chart thingy. What's weird to me is that if you are flying AA and want to use PreCheck, you have to go through security at the D/N gates now instead of near the A gates. I guess I can take the train across, though.

I've been doing a lot of flying out of SEA the past couple months and I was feeling pretty good that I had found a WTMD-only lane. Checkpoint 5 at the North end of the terminal had a WTMD-only on the far left. The ceiling there is lower, so there's no room for a rapiscan, so I figured this would be good for a while.

Just found out that they're going to be trying out pre-check at SEA, and it's going to be at checkpoint 5. I don't qualify for pre-check, so that means I'm losing my lane.

Does anyone know any other way to avoid the backscatters at Seatac? A friend told me there might be a WTMD-only lane at checkpoint 1, but I haven't had a chance to check it out, and I need to fly again soon.

Incidentally - I think the PreCheck lane will be the farthest right lane, not the farthest left. The farthest left is one is the one they direct families through. Otherwise, you'd enter the PreCheck lane (which is on the right, near where the premium line is) and have to cross all other lanes of foot traffic to reach the farthest left WTMD.

PreCheck is a revenue protection program for the airlines.

PreCheck rewards the passenger for always flying the same airline --regardless of ticket cost-- and punishes the passenger for choosing flights by price.

Over in the Delta forum, there are lots and lots and lots of posts from people who report that Delta's website charges higher fares when the website can tell the purchaser has status in Delta's FF program. Why do Delta's FFers put up with this? Easy -- they don't get PreCheck when they fly another airline.

PreCheck is a revenue protection program for the airlines.

I hear if you wear a tin-foil hat while booking on Delta.com you’ll get the regular prices... Here’s an even more crazy thought, the airlines are as lazy as the TSA. As much as every airline would love to offer PreCheck, it takes a lot of time/money/effort to redo the computers to accept a Registered Traveler number and the BP printers to support the LLLL barcode. We saw the same thing with the slow adoption of SecureFlight. And as with SecureFlight, we’ll eventually see PreCheck offered by every airline and at every airport.

I'm frustrated that PreCheck is for Alaska Airlines only. Although Alaska Airlines is based here, my next trips are on United and US Airways. I do not understand why the program is airline-specific. I have Global Entry, Nexus, and I'm a platinum frequent flyer. I'm sure that the "LLLL" code could be applied to a United or US Airways boarding card.

Then again, I don't understand why it's banned for international flights. It's all so messed-up.

I'm hoping that the First Class/Premier line at the N/D checkpoint will remain WTMD only. I don't think they have room for a backscatter there anyway.

According to this Seattle Times story people in Nexus, Sentri or Global Entry are also eligible. I've put my Global Entry number in my UA profile and hope to go through Precheck on my next flight.

See: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2017994170_trprecheck17.html

Now that this has been in effect for a few days, can anyone comment on the effect of this on "ordinary" elite pax (say, UA 1k, GS, F pax) on that former(?) to-the-right elite line at SEA North Terminal. Hassle factor, same time, longer, shorter?

I'm frustrated that PreCheck is for Alaska Airlines only. Although Alaska Airlines is based here, my next trips are on United and US Airways. I do not understand why the program is airline-specific. I have Global Entry, Nexus, and I'm a platinum frequent flyer. I'm sure that the "LLLL" code could be applied to a United or US Airways boarding card.It requires modifications to the computer systems at the participating airlines. Don't know why it's taking so long for United or US though...

I would expect the current restriction on AS only (adding AA and DL as well) is temporary, otherwise it would be different than how they're handling at other airports.

Now that this has been in effect for a few days, can anyone comment on the effect of this on "ordinary" elite pax (say, UA 1k, GS, F pax) on that former(?) to-the-right elite line at SEA North Terminal. Hassle factor, same time, longer, shorter?

I went through yesterday. Was hoping for my pre-check to work, but it didn't (probably because although I am pre-checked on both AA and AS, my AS flight was booked as an AA codeshare and AA isn't operational yet.) Anyway, they still were running the elites and F passengers through the same area - two lanes to the left of the awesome pre-check lane. There is a NoS in the area but it was roped off yesterday and the lines were moving really quickly - much better than usual because it is ONLY elites going through, so everyone knows the drill.

The downside, of course, is that the entire area is separated from the rest of the checkpoint so there's no chance of a SDOO in the event the NoS is operational. Also, there is no way to tell how long the line is because it snakes down the hallway that used to run behind United in the unsecure area - it's now part of the checkpoint maze. Anyway, you can't tell if there are 5 or 500 elites waiting for screening and you have no idea how many of the lanes are open at the end of the maze.

Ultimately, if I don't have pre-check, I'd be more likely to use the D checkpoint by the Boardroom or the main checkpoint so that I can see which lanes are operating which equipment.

I went through yesterday. Was hoping for my pre-check to work, but it didn't (probably because although I am pre-checked on both AA and AS, my AS flight was booked as an AA codeshare and AA isn't operational yet.) Anyway, they still were running the elites and F passengers through the same area - two lanes to the left of the awesome pre-check lane. There is a NoS in the area but it was roped off yesterday and the lines were moving really quickly - much better than usual because it is ONLY elites going through, so everyone knows the drill.

The downside, of course, is that the entire area is separated from the rest of the checkpoint so there's no chance of a SDOO in the event the NoS is operational. Also, there is no way to tell how long the line is because it snakes down the hallway that used to run behind United in the unsecure area - it's now part of the checkpoint maze. Anyway, you can't tell if there are 5 or 500 elites waiting for screening and you have no idea how many of the lanes are open at the end of the maze.

Ultimately, if I don't have pre-check, I'd be more likely to use the D checkpoint by the Boardroom or the main checkpoint so that I can see which lanes are operating which equipment.

Is the lane on the far left still WTMD-only and available for non-precheck?

Seattle Times travel writer Carol Pucci has written an excellent column about the limitations of preCheck at SEA:

Seattle Times:
TSA's PreCheck, a new passenger-screening program, could use a checkup
Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 7:01 PM (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travelwise/2018070843_trpucci29.html)

A short quote:

Assuming you qualify as "low risk" — for Seattleites, that means you're either a high-mileage frequent flier invited in by Alaska Airlines and pre-vetted by TSA, or a member of Nexus, Global Entry or Sentri, the "trusted traveler" expedited border-crossing programs run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection — you're eligible to speed through a special lane at Sea-Tac's north checkpoint, but only if you're flying on Alaska.

Here's the catch: 25 airlines fly in and out of Sea-Tac. Let's say you're flying on American, United, Southwest or any of the others. You can't use PreCheck until TSA decides to bring other airlines into the fold, even if you have a Nexus, Sentri or Global Entry pass.

Here's the catch: 25 airlines fly in and out of Sea-Tac. Let's say you're flying on American, United, Southwest or any of the others. You can't use PreCheck until TSA decides to bring other airlines into the fold, even if you have a Nexus, Sentri or Global Entry pass.

Any updates to it? More specifically, I will be flying Southwest from SEA in a week and I have PreCheck. Which checkpoint should I use? Thanks!

Any updates to it? More specifically, I will be flying Southwest from SEA in a week and I have PreCheck. Which checkpoint should I use? Thanks!

Whatever checkpoint you want; Southwest doesn't participate in PreCheck (I recall reading that they balked when DHS gave them the option).

FWIW I went through SEA last fall via Delta and used PreCheck. Had to go to the north end of the terminal to use it.

FWIW I went through SEA last fall via Delta and used PreCheck. Had to go to the north end of the terminal to use it.If on Delta, AA, Alaska, United, or US Airways, and you are eligible for PreCheck, you can use it at SEA, although they have moved it to be one of the center checkpoints.

If you're not flying one of those airlines, then the PreCheck location doesn't matter to you.

If on Delta, AA, Alaska, United, or US Airways, and you are eligible for PreCheck, you can use it at SEA, although they have moved it to be one of the center checkpoints.

If you're not flying one of those airlines, then the PreCheck location doesn't matter to you.

So I can't walk to the say, Delta checkpoint, use PreCheck to get through security, then walk to my gate at Southwest?

So I can't walk to the say, Delta checkpoint, use PreCheck to get through security, then walk to my gate at Southwest?

No. The airline on which you are flying must support the ability to store a "Trusted Traveler" number in the "Secure Flight" area of your passenger record (PNR), communicate that to TSA, receive back the "go/no go" for marking your boarding pass as PreCheck-eligible, and then finally coding the barcode on your pass as such.

At SEA, there are no dedicated checkpoints by airline. Any passenger can use any checkpoint on the concourse. PreCheck is available at checkpoint 3, lane 1 or the southernmost lane.

So I can't walk to the say, Delta checkpoint, use PreCheck to get through security, then walk to my gate at Southwest?

Since WN does not participate in Pre-Check, you're out of luck. You can still use any checkpoint, but you will not be able to go through the Pre-Check lane.

Since WN does not participate in Pre-Check, you're out of luck. You can still use any checkpoint, but you will not be able to go through the Pre-Check lane.

Unless you buy a refundable ticket on a participating airline and obtain pre-check that way....