goalie

Can't speak for AA but as a UA flyer, I can say that I have always rec'd pre-check when changing a reservation within two weeks of travel along with a t-24 hour weather waiver change, a same day change to later & earlier flights, irrops to a later same day flight plus to a flight the next day and VDB'ing to a later flight both the same day and overnight to the next day

SFO777

I got my Pre-Check by virtue of undergoing a background check for NEXUS and Global Entry. I have no sympathy for any US citizen that complains about Pre-Check when they have the same opportunity to qualify that I did.

Nothing stopping the 3x a year person from applying for TT status.

Absolutely. Those are great ideas.

SFO777

Even as a UA kettle, I have always rec'd Pre-Check on a qualifying (domestic only) UA itinerary.

jtodd

So Americans, or other, should only receive proper treatment or guaranteed rights of which they are willing or able to purchase, got it. It kind of flies in the face of all men are created equal, but I understand some people are not fans.

Pre-check method and status should be the standard for all, without any application or payment, absent some type of probable cause. As it is, pre-check is simply a divide and conquer scheme by an organization that has turned it nose to the constitution and this countries inherent freedoms.

saulblum

You've got to admit it: John Pistole is a sheer genius. He has created a program meant to appease frequent fliers (the airlines' most valued customers) and has successfully sold it to the media and the public as a security initiative. Too bad most reporters and passengers are too dumb to see through it.

SFO777

Let me guess... you are not a frequent flyer, believe in redistribution of income, and believe that all airlines should only have coach seating. Suppose you want some of my jet card hours as well?

saulblum

At what amount of miles-per-year flown does one's shoes become less explosive? 20,000? 40,000? 100,000?

Are you terrified as you look at the common-folk checkpoint line that one of their shoes might go BOOM at any moment?

Or are you admitting that PreCheck is all about appeasing passengers and nothing about security?

I suppose that only property owners should be allowed to vote too, right? I mean, after all, they deserve it.

Fredd

Underlying your humorous assumptions lies a valid question, which I can answer only for me. I'm personally about as far from a "redistributionist" as you can find, and I'll buy my way into any improved travel experience that I a) can afford and/or b) find cost-effective. That doesn't really make me unique on FT, does it?

I eagerly board a plane as an elite (although UA has largely taken the fun out of that), use the elite counter at hotel check-in, and access the elite airport security lines, e.g. my all-time favorite title of the posts I've started over the years here is "Cheater," she hissed at me across the security line rope.

I also happily traverse both Global Entry and NEXUS, and some years ago paid the official baksheesh for expedited delivery of my passport with extra pages added.

Now that I've documented my elitist tendencies, I'll assert that TSA check points vs. TSA Pre✓™ is different.

Mrs. Fredd's and my experiences at the check points since the latest "enhancements" are generally not too pleasant, exacerbated by our refusal to use the X-Ray scanners. We've flown out of enough other advanced countries, most of which would consider themselves as much to be potential terrorist targets as we, to believe that much of what the average person goes through at the TSA check point, e.g. shoes off, "advanced" machines, is not only unnecessary but costing taxpayer dollars that could be better utilized used elsewhere to optimize security.

In other words, the "redistribution" from my pocket to pay for the uniforms and badges worn by this unionized army of "government agents," and the lobbyists' profitable but unproven technology bothers me. I get to view this particular example of wasteful government spending every time I go to the airport.

The fact that some of us can sail through TSA Pre✓™ in a style that resembles our general experiences flying out of other first-world countries, only a few feet away from others undergoing the usual experience, only highlights it.

Clearly YMMV.

saulblum

Posts like yours make me wish FT had a "like" button ^

N1120A

I have NEXUS and am an EXP on AA and a 1K on UA. I've gotten LLL once on AA when the PreCheck line was closed and once on AA returning from an international on the domestic leg (which isn't usually supposed to happen) where a PreCheck line hadn't been opened yet at that checkpoint.

Otherwise, I've never gotten PreCheck. That said, I think that retaliation had played a factor in it.

Xyzzy

We're doing this to our wn citizens too.

jtodd

I used to be a frequent flier, but since scope and grope began, and I had my first taste of government thugs, I have not flown. I will fly again when my assault is no longer a requirement of such or payment of some form is not needed by the government to bypass the abuse.

I don't have a clue where you came up with redistribution of income. Care to elaborate what private business practices have to do with a government agency assaulting me or asking for a bribe to allow me the use of my rights?

When I enlisted, I don't remember ever being led to believe that I was only defending the Constitution for the wealthy or some specific segment of American society.

SFO777

Duh... of course it's about appeasing passengers, those that travel frequently and/or are willing to pay for the privilege.
Is that a problem for you?

Saul, you are on a roll today. Another great idea. ^
Although I'd settle for one vote per real and verified citizen. @:-)

I don't disagree with your assessment of waste, but so what? Government wastes money in everything it touches. There is nothing you or I can do about it, especially since the US voters apparently like electing clowns that give them free phones and food.

OK, so you've decided to take yourself off the travel grid, and sit on your tusch hoping for change. Good luck with that. I choose to bypass the system by paying for the privilege of not having to deal with the masses.

Seemed like a natural progression from "no one should have any special travel privileges." Do I have the right to sit in F while others are in Y.

That's pretty naive. Earth to Todd. There is no utopia. There will always be people more privileged than others, under capitalism, socialism or communism, using either money or political/military power to achieve that privilege. One survives and prospers by adapting and taking advantage of one's opportunities, not by pouting on the sidelines.

saulblum

If I hand a cop a $20 to get out of a speeding ticket, that'd be bribery.

So how is handing the government a check for $100 (or spending a certain threshold with private companies) in order to reduce the chances that I will be felt up by a government employee as a condition of traveling about the country any different?

Yes, there is a serious problem with the government assigning different levels of trustworthiness to citizens based on how much money they spend with private companies.

And by the way, why are you so enamored with PreCheck? You never know till you show up at the checkpoint whether you've been deemed worthy that day, so you still have to show up early enough in case you're deemed a risk. So it's not saving you any travel time.

Well silly me, I thought Americans loved liberty and were willing to fight for liberty and equality.

What a solipsistic attitude you present to the world.

SFO777

No idea what you are talking about. I am 100% with PreCheck on domestic flights and have never been denied. At DEN, it takes me 30 seconds from ID check to picking up my bag on the other side of the metal detector. I have NEXUS and Global Entry. I can bypass the masses when re-enter the US simply by using a kiosk and my fingerprints, often without even speaking to a CBP agent. Can also enter Canada on a retina scan and without talking to any agent. Even if PreCheck was closed or denied, I would simply use the Priority Lanes to bypass most of the masses. Perhaps you should worry more about things that you can control. @:-)