I've been flying out of MEM every week for the last couple of months so hopefully I can give you some info.

I've only checked a bag in one time so I can't really tell you about check-in stuff other than to say that it seems like every other airport. You check in, take your bag to screening and head to security. Not sure if all the airlines use x-ray for checked bags or the cotton swab method.

As for the terminals, I think that there is just A, B, and C. I always fly NW and am at the B gates. I will say this for the B terminal, even though MEM is not a big airport, it can be quite a hike to some of the B gates. There are no moving walkways etc.

If you are flying from a B gate and there is a long line for security, you can go to either end of the check-in area as if you are heading to either the A or C gates. There never seems to be a line at those checkpoints and then once through security, you can still get to the B terminal.

At B security, there is the ususal rent-an-i.d checker checking BP and i.d. Then the x-ray and metal detector and the TSA BP check. Then, and this has been mentioned before in other threads, after you get your carry-ons, before you leave the security area into the gate area, there is another TSA check of your BP. That 3rd check is a dog-and-pony show. It is a waste of time, money and does absolutely nothing to "make us safe". And before anyone disagrees with me, if it is necessary, how do you justify not having that third check at every airport. And, more importantly, how do you justify not having it at MEM half the time. As I said, I've been through there every week for the last 9 weeks, mostly Friday afternoons. Sometimes there is someone at that 3rd checkpoint and sometimes there isn't so it obviously isn't a necessary position. Also, never are you told to keep your BP out for one more check. A couple of times when I've been caught behind an elderly couple who put away there 15 pages of BP's, connecting BP's, itineraries, etc, only to have to get them out and find the right one, I've thought about just walking by them just to call the TSA's bluff on this checkpoint. Of course, I haven't done it because I'd rather wait a couple of minutes than to miss my flight while the TSA illegally detains me.

Sorry to have gotten on that soapbox. Anyway, I don't think that MEM is any better or worse than most other airports and being prepared as you enter the security area certainly speeds things along.

Good luck.