Originally Posted by
xenole
Blind luck when I've got it.
Sometimes the queue is long and they channel people into the pre-TSA queue to clear the backlog.
Got exactly that with JetBlue from JFK and AA at HNL.
I have tried my luck at MCO and SJU and got lucky both times.
My own experience very much matches that of
scilyisles.
Best example of the random theory I've come across was at MCO a few months ago when I heard a family complaining that their children had been pre-approved but they hadn't. As their children were aged about 7 years old I felt they had a point.