ems717

Sorry if this has been answered before, I couldn't find anything while searching.

What is faster PreCheck or SkyPriority? I am leaving Friday morning out of ATL->BOS this is my first time with SkyPriority. Normally the PreCheck lines at Atlanta are hit or miss, there are too many of us, but it's nice not to take off my shoes/belt and take out my laptop.

ATLawyer

My rule of thumb is if PreCheck extends outside the glassed in area, I go SkyPriority. Hasn't led me astray yet--most I've waited is 10 min in the Sky lane.

nikitta28

One other factor when you do your quick assessment - wheelchairs or large families with strollers and multiple small children.

ems717

Thanks for advice, I'll be traveling with someone with out PreCheck or SkyPriority so I'll end up waiting for them anyway. But we'll
see what happens.

jalves

Interesting question. A couple of airports I've flown from recently (LAX & JFK come to mind) have offered both SkyPriority and PreCheck lines. I've tried both but my experience is a bit limited. At LAX I used SP but could follow the usual pre-check criteria of keeping my shoes on and laptop in the bag by showing the person manning the belt my boarding pass again. In JFK I opted to just go to the PreCheck line.

pauldrew00

I have not yet had the luxury of participating in the TSA Pre-Check line but the Sky Priority has been hit or miss for me on a couple of occasions now.

On my most recent trip out of Logan, there were two separate lines. The first was for the part where you give your boarding pass and identification to the TSA agent who greenlights you to move forward. The second line was for the examination itself and this was moving painfully slow on the particular day I went. So in this case, the Sky Priority did nothing for me. I ended up waiting 15~ minutes anyways.

flyerCO

While I'd never pay for it, Clear has been a life send IMO. Doesn't matter if Precheck or not. Get to go straight to front of line. IMO they could get more to sign up for PreCheck if they simply took your fingerprints and let you skip the line for ID checker. Clear is nothing but an e-gate replacing ID checker, why it's not part of Precheck is baffling actually.

Often1

A well-run Pre-Check line such as at IAD/DCA, processed 6-7 pax for every one moving through the standard line. That is a combination of experienced Officers, a good physical setup and likely a more experienced traveling cohort.

It has to be a really, really long regular line to make me opt for anything other than Pre-Check.

Part of it is also that I am completely set up for Pre-Check. I simply dump my pockets into a side pouch of my briefcase (I don't worry about what is metal and what is not) and then add my phone once I've scanned my BP. Not worrying about shoes, coats, laptops and belts is worth something.

If you are with a non-pre-checker, I just wait for them or tell them that I'll meet them at a pre-determined spot.

jrl767

as you describe ...
it's all about knowing how to be efficient ... I'm usually wearing a sport coat or blazer or lightweight jacket: reading glasses (in a case) are in an inside pocket, along w pen (to do the crossword in the inflight magazine, and to write the tail number on the paper BP -- yes I'm a geek about that ); sunglasses go into the breast pocket, phone goes into a side pocket; jacket goes on the belt with laptop case and rollaboard

geoflyer

at AUS the Pre line can be quite long as everyone that had previously used the priority line moved over there. Now the priority line is almost empty, and if you go through that line and you are Pre qualified, the doc-checker will just route you over to the Pre line at the x-ray belt, thereby jumping the long Pre queue waiting for their docs to be checked... You become "that guy" for all the Pre folks, but it can save 10 minutes. Although now I have taken Delta up on their offer of free Clear membership for diamonds, so I skip all the lines....very nice. Thank you Delta.

gooselee

Then definitely spend your time waiting in the Pre line.

IME the Pre lines in ATL move pretty quick, even if they appear long, since they just process people that much faster. I can't remember ever having to wait more than 5 or 10 mins in a Pre line in ATL, and I fly on Monday mornings quite often.

mrothly

I've actually tested this a couple of times at JFK, as my sometimes travel companion is ineligible for TSA Pre but gets Sky Priority when on an itinerary with me.

Twice we specifically tested by entering the lines at the exact same time. Both times in Sky Priority they happened beat me to the other side in Pre -- but only by about 1-2 minutes. I never find the lines at JFK T4 to be very long at all however. So personally, I'd take that extra minute in exchange for not having to remove shoes and laptop, but if someone was in a SUPER rush this data point might be useful.

Navig8R

This. Especially in the winter months when passengers have extra layers, I'll take the Pre-Check line every time regardless of the length of Sky Priority (my home airport is DCA).

AKABrownBear

In my experience Pre-Check is always faster and even if it wasn't, I love not taking my shoes and belt off and taking my laptop out of my bag.

I will also say in DTW the Pre-Check line likely looks intimidating on Mondays but they really focus their staff on it. Normally there are 6-8 people checking tickets and IDs and 4+ lanes open so they get 30-40 people through in roughly 5 minutes in my experience. And I've also experienced going to Sky Priority and being first in line and waiting 10-15 minutes because they have only one lane open and people have to get 2-3 bins each so there is a giant line once you get your ticket scanned.

wandering_nomad

Pre-check has usually been more convenient/efficient for me-- but again, depends on how long the line is.