Learned something new - thanks!

SEA Security Lines
 

What are security waits like @ SEA without access to priority lines at 5pm on a Thursday?

What kinds of status will work to get into the priority lines?

Question isn't for me, I've had no problem using UA status even when flying Horizon. (Assume that's standard.)

But I'm wondering whether any airline elite status will do the trick, and if it's even necessary?

Thanks!

You might check the TSA site for SeaTac here:

TSA Sea-Tac Airport Wait times

I've found this to be pretty accurate.

Generally you have to have some sort of status or be flying first/business to use the priority lanes. For Star Alliance airlines, this means Star Silver or Star Gold. I'm not familiar with other airline programs, but I would guess that any airline status would work. They don't always check too closely.

30 minutes is the longest I've waited at SEA this year. 10 to 15 is more the norm. Remember that you can go to any checkpoint to access any gate. Sometimes the N/D gates checkpoint is really backed up, but the others are not so bad.

Thanks. Would there be any problem showing, say, an Airtran elite card to access elite security when flying Horizon?

Ah -- elite access IS theoretically segregated by checkpoint (and i'm not sure which concourse AirTran uses at SEA). There is a sign at each checkpoint's fast-track lane showing which elites are allowed to use it (generally the ones whose airlines use proximate gates). I think this policy is enforced sort of sporadically.

At the checkpoint for the C concourse, any Horizon passenger for the PDX shuttle is allowed to use the fast-track lane. If you stood in line for 30 minutes at SEA it'd be just as fast to drive to PDX, downtown-to-downtown.

They check the cards against the boarding pass to ensure that they have the same name. I've seen folks turned away that don't have the appropriate cards. However; with that being said, most of the security takes no longer than 20 minutes except on Sundays when the cruise line returnees are going out.

I'm curious how Seattle handles the holiday travel crush. I'm thinking about driving up from PDX (it's much cheaper, even with parking and gas, to fly out of Seattle this Christmas), and would like to know how much time I'll need to build in. Even at peak holiday times the wait at PDX isn't too bad, anybody with experience care to weigh in?

KING5 (local TV) was just this morning running a sort of incoherent, alarmist report, apropos of nothing, about how bad things are going to get at SEA for the holidays -- even though Thanksgiving is more than two months off.

Parking is as big an issue as security time. On-airport day-rate parking fills up fast. You will want to use one of the satellite private lots, and perhaps make a reservation (my favorite: www.shuttlepark2.com). Allow an extra 30+ minutes to find the lot, ditch the car, and ride the shuttle to the terminal.

You will also definitely want to do OLCI and fly without checked baggage if you can. The landside / check-in counter space at SEA is skimpy, far tighter than at PDX, and during the holidays it's a madhouse, with lines stretching out the door into the rain. If you have to check bags use curbside bag check and pay the fee -- if it's not shut down for some security alert.

If you can bypass the check-in counters and go straight to security, I think it would be OK to arrive at the curb (not the parking lot) 2 hours before your departure. I've never seen security lines take more than one hour at SEA. I have, however, stood in a landside check-in line for eight hours (during irrops ten days before Christmas).

Even with the reduced Horizon ticket prices?

http://www.alaskasworld.com/Newsroom...826_210454.asp

I'd sure try to take MAX to the airport and hop on the Horizon shuttle rather than deal with Seattle traffic and parking at SeaTac.

SEA Elite Security Line Lengthened The Wait
 

We'd never seen such a long elite security line as we did this past Tuesday (day after MLK Day) at 5:00 a.m. Our queue was backed up more than half the way down that glassed-off corridor that runs parallel to the actual TSA checkpoint. The person in line behind us said he flew weekly and had seen this regularly.

As we got toward the front we realized belatedly that there were three screeners checking IDs on the regular line and one for the elite so the regular line was actually moving significantly faster. We still made our flight, the beginning of a long day that ended up in SIN, but it was another of those times that the elite line isn't necessarily the quickest option.

I've seen this myself lately. Mornings are the worst. Something that really seems to compound the problem is that the wheelchairs and crew all cut in to the front of the elite line.

Seattle North Security Checkpoint Closed For 2 Weeks
 

Todays' Seattle Times article on the installation of full-body scanners at Sea-Tac also said, "The North security checkpoint. . .will close Sunday for about two weeks while TSA installs scanners there."

I guess I need to get arrive much earlier as I suspect lines will be longer at the other checkpoints.

Yes -- the mornings (500a-800a) will be hell.

It's kind of odd that they don't have a reopen date. "about two weeks" - is a bit vague. You would think they have a scheduled date for the work to be done.