Yes, in short, Registered Traveler is a program that lets people pay an annual fee of $100 to cut to the front of the line. As for the background check? It's purely theater to make the public think the program is something other than a way for the well-off to avoid the hassles of post 9/11 airline travel. The TSA promises that the program won't slow down regular travelers, but that's plainly absurd. If it speeds up those willing to pay $100, it's going to slow down those unwilling or unable to do so, since there are currently no plans to add special screening lanes for Registered Travelers.

Yup, we're all in this together, except that some of us are more all in this together than others.

UPDATE:

Cindy Rosenthal, the vice president of communication for Verified Identity Pass, contacted me to correct and contest some of my points (I had left a message for her yesterday).

VIP does make lines faster for everyone for several reasons (based on a trial in Orlando and new equipment):

* The designated lanes include longer tables for separating a traveler's things into plastic containers and there is a conceierge to help with that process
* The Registered Traveler kiosks, specially made by GE (now an investor in VIP), also scan shoes so that travellers don't have to take their shoes off when they go through the metal detector (unless they have a significant amount of metal, such as with steel-toed boots or spike heels)

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/200...ered_trav.html