Question: Can someone explain to me thought process behind the new TSA PreCheck line at ATL??
I headed to the South checkpoint, where the TSA PC line used to be (with First and SP). TSA PC has been moved to the main central security, on the South side (though still on the south side). What I don't get is that the line is open to anyone to get in, there is no longer a person scanning your BP to allow you in the line or direct you elsewhere. Thus, you are getting in this line because you don't know if you have qualified for PC that day in hopes that when you get to the end of it you will get be given the green light. What gives??? I have seen this at more airports (DFW/BWI) where you just go down those lines and you either go through or get turned away and have to work your way out of the line and into the main.
While I love getting PC, I dont mind going though the regular one. But why stop scanning before you get in line? Why not just indicate on the BP if you are selected??
Agreed. There is a flaw in the ATL PreCheck. At DTW, if you don't qualify that day, you just go to the right instead of the left after TSA checks your ID. In ATL, after waiting in the line, if you don't qualify that day, you have to go stand in the regular security line. There should be a shortcut for those who aren't eligible in a given day to get to the security line.
Fortunately, I usually fly on off times, but it could be a significant issue on a Monday morning or Thursday afternoon.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeltaFFATL
I have seen this at more airports (DFW/BWI) where you just go down those lines and you either go through or get turned away and have to work your way out of the line and into the main.
Are you serious that if you get to the front of the line, and you don't get the 3 beeps, they make you do a walk of shame, BACK OUT, and wait in a long line from scratch???
I've seen 2 versions:
Here at PIT, they hava separate PreCheck line. If you get to the front, and you don't qualify, they open a little gate that scoots you into the front of the 1st Class/SkyPriority/OAL FF line.
At LGA, everybody waits in the SkyPriority line. If you get to the front, and you get the beeps, they direct you to PreCheck. If you don't, they direct you the other direction to "regular" TSA SkyPriority.
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Are you serious that if you get to the front of the line, and you don't get the 3 beeps, they make you do a walk of shame, BACK OUT, and wait in a long line from scratch???
I've seen 2 versions:
Here at PIT, they hava separate PreCheck line. If you get to the front, and you don't qualify, they open a little gate that scoots you into the front of the 1st Class/SkyPriority/OAL FF line.
At LGA, everybody waits in the SkyPriority line. If you get to the front, and you get the beeps, they direct you to PreCheck. If you don't, they direct you the other direction to "regular" TSA SkyPriority.
Yep, that is correct. There is no other line, where this location is for them to dump you in, as you empty back into the main hallway. I agree that I have seen different as well. BWI and DFW are as you describe PIT is. But why cause the confusion form the start by having a line people done know if they are allowed to use or not? I just don't get it. Why make people waste more time by standing in line to find out if they go through or not. The way it used to be made more sense and there was never a line of more then 2-3 people waiting to scan and then being told which line. The improvement I do see (from what I could tell) is that the new TSA PC has more than one r-ray line. With the increased number of people qualifying for PC, that makes sense. But the entry into PC makes none.
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They really need to figure out a way to identify on a BP if you are a potential Pre-Check candidate or not, then a shortcut if you don't qualify.
Right now, at DTW anyone can use the pre-Check line, and then if they don't qualify it's a free trip to the front. That isn't right. But equally, making qualified people that just happened to not get their beeps start from scratch sucks too.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeltaFFATL
Yep, that is correct. There is no other line, where this location is for them to dump you in, as you empty back into the main hallway. I agree that I have seen different as well. BWI and DFW are as you describe PIT is. But why cause the confusion form the start by having a line people done know if they are allowed to use or not? I just don't get it. Why make people waste more time by standing in line to find out if they go through or not. The way it used to be made more sense and there was never a line of more then 2-3 people waiting to scan and then being told which line. The improvement I do see (from what I could tell) is that the new TSA PC has more than one r-ray line. With the increased number of people qualifying for PC, that makes sense. But the entry into PC makes none.
I agree that the change causes confusion and doesn't seem like an improvement! Hopefuly adjustments will be made in the near future if confusion persists.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davetravels
So, are you guyz thinking that it might be better, in ATL, to just use the SkyPriority line instead of PreCheck?
If you are flying on Monday morning, i would not bother with waiting in the PC line since i assume it gets backed up and then you have waited in a line that leads to nowhere if you don't qualify.
In the old setup, i have waited for up to 10 minutes just to get BP scanned to determine if PC or SP.
I have only used the new setup on off travel days where there was no line to do the initial BP scan and then scoot down the hall for PC ID checking - works great if you are selected.
I must have had a different experience when I flew recently as they scanned my ticket twice, once at the entrance of the precheck line and then again by TSA. I thought it worked well and liked it better than the previous setup.
When I went through about 10 days ago they had somebody at the entrance checking the boarding pass like how it was at the South security entrance. I guess they did away with these people?
When I went through about 10 days ago they had somebody at the entrance checking the boarding pass like how it was at the South security entrance. I guess they did away with these people?
At the busiest times, by the time you reach the PreChec PreScreeners you have already waiting through the majority of the line. In the previous set-up, at the South Entrance, the you hit the Pre-Checkers earlier in the wait.
The bottom line is there needs to be a process for those who wait in the PreCheck line because they are ordinarily eligible for PreCheck but find, after waiting, that they were adversely selected for this trip. Several airports have a good process for this; ATL is not one of those. ATL presently has a "too bad, so sad" attitude of forcing us to "Go Back to Go" and start the process again. It defeats the time savings potential of being PreCheck eligible.
I like the new setup better. Under the old config, PC and SkyPriority people stood in the same line to get to a scanner which made the wait time to get to the scanner longer than it is now. The problem was that the PC line was so long that it would wrap around and interfere with the Skypriority line and the other line that was also there. Then, a) the scanners would have to stop and direct people or b) they'd have to dedicate a person to route people.
So the new system isn't "better for PC" I suppose, but it is more efficient. Without the SkyPriority lane to fall back on, I find the line shorter now and have only seen a handful of people get the boot. On the good side, I believe there's 3 or 4 TSA scanners which feed into 4 belts/metal detectors. The line, overall, is much faster as a result, and maybe that's why the line appears shorter.
I am still not convinced that PreCheck is "random." I think that once you qualify and your data is in the system properly, you will always receive the three beeps. At least this has been my experience.
