Loren Pechtel

I'm talking about finding the Pre-Check lane closed and thus having to do regular screening.

danielonn

I guess there are some people who don't know the benefits of Pre Check or who are too cheap to dole out the money to get Pre Check. I just love the complainers who whine about the lines , missing flights and taking their shoes off,belts off laptops out of the container.

Oh and we can't forget those people who just love to arrive late and push people to get to the front. Wow those people are just too egoistic and have a large ego.

If you would sit down for a moment and do the math. How many trips do you take a year? How many hours wasted in line? People are just too full of it and want to waste their time in line.

I hate lines and TSA Pre Check for me is totally worth the cost. It pays for itself. Lets just say you missed a flight you may be asked to purchase a new ticket but if you had Pre Check you would be having a cup of coffee or at the lounge waiting for the flight.

I would much rather be waiting in a lounge with a G&T than waiting in line thirsty with no food.

televisor

The "biometric" passport is a misnomer. The chip stores the same data that's on the photo page of your passport, and possibly some facial measurements - that were obtained from the same photo you submitted. There's no fingerprinting involved in this passport process, there's no additional data compared to a non-biometric passport, it's all about how the data is stored (the chip makes it easier to verify the data is real).

Over in mainland Europe: many countries now require a single fingerprint for their passport (I believe it's the index finger) - guess what: I know of people who won't apply for a passport for that reason. I know of people who won't travel to the US because of the fingerprinting situation too. (They can still travel around Europe on national ID cards which don't require any fingerprints.)

chollie

PHX T3 yesterday. People who ponied up $95 for Pre got to keep their shoes on, but still had to remove LGAs and electronics. There's a single line and Pre pax have to keep BP/ID out to be re-scanned and checked immediately before the scanner but AFTER their bags are on the belt. Lines are slowed down because some of us hold up the xray to re-secure our BP/ID before grabbing our things off the belt. The only benefit of Pre (assuming you keep your BP/ID out for a second check) is to keep your shoes on.

Yeah, Pre, such a bargain. When the couple ahead of me told the TDC that this wasn't what they paid $85 for and that any ordinary business would be violating the law with such a bait-and-switch, he said his boss hates Pre, tell Congress to give them a raise if they want Pre, and he got cheated out of the Pacquaio fight that he paid cable TV for and he didn't get a refund, so Pre pax shouldn't expect to get what they thought they paid for either.

Boggie Dog

Hasn't there some rumblings about the PHX FSD not wanting to implement Pre or just flat out not devoting any resources to Pre?

chollie

IME, it is certainly not reliably available at PHX. I didn't have time this trip to track down the Pre enrollment office. I would like to let them make their sales pitch, then ask them how often full Pre is available at PHX.

I already know the truth, I just want to hear if they'll admit that the TSO was right, they are selling a product they have no obligation to deliver as advertised - if at all.

Last time I flew through, there were two announcements in the short time before my flight for folks to return to the checkpoint for a forgotten ID. Not only was there no time savings (besides keeping shoes on), and the confusion of Pre pax who haven't flown through PHX before and have already stowed their BP/ID, there is the added risk of having to keep BP/ID out after your belongings are already in the xray. Hint: not all travelers have pockets where they can safely stow their BP/ID while retrieving belongings from the belt. Some of us end up holding up the line to re-stow them. The man ahead of me alarmed the WTMD - they took his BP/ID back to be xrayed while moving him over for his grope. Wife spoke up, offering to take the ID/BP, but the TSO told her no, they had to be sent through the xray.

This is the same belt that jammed a year ago when a TSO put a pax shirt (long-sleeved flannel shirt, ie, 'outerwear') directly on the belt. I was grabbing my bag when I saw it start it catch in the rollers, but two TSOs ignored me when I tried to call their attention to it. I'm not about to lose my ID that way.

petaluma1

They took his BP & ID to be x-rayed? A piece of paper and a laminated card, probably a DL, to be x-rayed? Please tell me that's not so!

chollie

I really wish I could tell you it didn't happen, but it did.

flyerCO

Same here at Terminal A since I fly DL. The regular line can reach across the terminal. However Precheck is normally only one or two people and is always open since it's used for crew/employees also.

petaluma1

Could the fact that SAT serves a large military base have more to with the fact that it's always open?

Randyk47

It probably doesn't hurt but with really only two security points, one for each terminal, it's not like there are a lot of alternatives. Another thing is that SAT, at least for passenger travel, is not a 24/7 operation, more like 19-20/7. Haven't been in or out of Terminal A late recently but Terminal B pretty much closes down by 10:30-11:00 PM barring late delayed departures or arrivals and doesn't open again until like 3:30 AM with the earliest flights at 5:00-5:30 AM.

Another comment about San Antonio, the heavy DoD population, and PreCheck. You'd think that since uniformed and civilian personnel get "free" PreCheck the lanes would be hammered here. Truth is that their rate of travel is no greater or more than probably the average citizen. My wife has a staff of 14 counting herself and only one or two of them travel even close to what would be considered frequently on official or personal travel.

84fiero

My wife and I travel internationally 2-3 times a year, every year, for leisure purposes and we don't have GE. A few extra minutes in line a few times a year, isn't really a big deal for us. And though the GE cost for two isn't huge in the grand scheme of things, it's still money that we could spend on other stuff. The automated kiosks and the CBP app have sped things up a bit, too, IME.

I already have PreCheck at no cost to me and it is nice to have. Personally I think the PreCheck procedures should just be the standard for everyone, period.

flyerCO

While all the retailers and the security checkpoint is closed after the last departure, the terminal remains open basically all night. DL normally has flights scheduled to get in after midnight, and with delays regularly after 1am. They even sometimes have a scheduled flight from ATL that gets in at 130AM. Of course arrivals don't need the checkpoint open, but then some airlines leave as early as the 5 o'clock hour.

I'd love using terminal B, (especially since it has a President's United Club) but right now that means flying AA/UA. Although if UA gets it's act together under new leadership may be willing to. Right now only get to use it when DL doesn't fly to my destination and have to fly UA.

Box10

Not quite true. I know someone that doesn't get Pre-Check and they arrive 120-150 minutes before the flight.

If I get Pre-Check, I arrive 60 minutes before the flight. In the old days, I used to arrive 25-35 minutes before the flight.

CMK10

Depending where you live, getting GE can be annoying. I'm in Durham and the nearest full time location for a GE interview is CLT, a 130 mile drive away. If you work, that can be a pain to deal with.