Originally Posted by
joshwex90
Why does Pre-Check have to be so complex? I'll start off with, it's a great idea. I'm glad they're instituting it, and look forward to utilizing it, seeing it expand...
That being said, why can't anyone enrolled enjoy the benefits always? I will be enrolled, as I'm GE and was targeted as a CO elite. Why does it only work for AA at some airports, and DL at other airports? As a TT, I should have a number to put into my online profile when booking travel. It shouldn't matter what airline I'm flying or what airport I'm using. As long as Pre-Check is set up at that airport, anyone enrolled should be able to benefit.
Perhaps, they shouldn't bother encoding the BP. Otherwise, if I'm flying a foreign carrier, how will I ever benefit?
The system is a great idea. But with tweaks like this, the TSA could really go a long way to restoring some faith in travelers everywhere.
Short answer: it's still being rolled out. TSA has demonstrated before that implementation of changes is not the agency's strong point.
I believe it's also related to individual airline IT systems - they're all different, probably have to be modified somehow. Even if they had an existing unused 'ID' field that could be used to supply TSA with a TT number, they still have to adapt the system to receive confirmation back from TSA and to properly encode the BP.
Plus someone decided to throw FF into the mix, so that's another level of complexity - instead of the airline passing on a TT number that TSA can verify, the airline has to pass some kind of 'OK' based on FF status for TSA to process and respond to.
Then there's the physical element - dedicated TT lanes and trying to find train-able TSOs so a much bally-hooed program doesn't immediately fall on its face when a TT TSO randomly decides all pax must take their shoes off anyway in 'his' lane. Plus training a TDC to recognize an 'LLL' and understand what it means. LAS has apparently already added a step to the process: if 'contraband' is found on a TT (bottle of water in carry-on) at the checkpoint, the line stops while the offending pax gets 'written up' and threatened with expulsion from the program.
TSA probably wanted to target the 'major' airlines first to make the biggest splash in terms of numbers. CO/UA may have been too busy with the merger to be able to make any necessary software changes as quickly as AA and DL.
Put all these elements together with an agency that doesn't have the best track record of implementation, and it's probably surprising that we haven't had negative reports yet.
For reasons that mystify me, it appears that flying an international itinerary excludes you from Pre-check, so it wouldn't surprise me if foreign carriers are never eligible.
If I understand you correctly, you feel (and I agree) that if you're already a member of TT (GE/NEXUS/SENTRI) holder, there should be a way to just show the card and get expedited screening. No back-and-forth with the airlines, entering your number into each airline's records, etc - something analogous to the kiosks GE members use now for expedited immigration and customs clearance. That makes sense to me, and I think it would have been a good first phase approach, but hey, we're talking TSA....