NYT Christopher Caldwell on "First Class Privilege"
 

Link to May 11 commentary

Guess we're all over privileged.... :td::td:

What a doofus. Is there a way to leave comments below the article? I didn't see any, nor do I see a link for his email.

I definitely want to send a comment.

I didn't see a link, but it's now the top thread on the TSA blog so you can comment there - I'm sure Caldwell will read the blog!

I actually think he's right that there should be no status of any kind at the security checkpoint.

With things that have to do just with the airline, status is all well and good. But the security is something that everyone pays equally for through their taxes, and it's a government function. Why should the government prioritize some people over others based on their FF status? Also, just in principle airline security is one of the burdens of maintaining civil society, so ought to be shared equally by all.

The government is not providing prioritization to elite flyers. The airlines, who pay rental fees to the airport for the space prior to the TSO performing the TDC, have chosen to provide a priority line in THEIR rental space prior to the TSA checkpoint. That is their privilege, as it is THEIR rental property prior to the actual TDC checkstand. Once you have passed the TDC, you are in TSA-land and are subject to their decisions on which queue you end up in.

Status Lanes okay for some
 

At UA gates at BWI there are no "status" lanes, all herd into one area. But this morning the TSA agents were pulling out all the servicemen that were in uniform just returning from deployment and escorting them to the head of the line and straight into the "crew" screening lane. ^

These are the ones that should always get preferential treatment at security. They have earned it.

Later

I love the rationalization that I've seen here (i.e. FT) that access to and the wait for a service is not part of the provision of that service... especially now that you cannot enter the line w/o passing a TSA ID checker.

Even if airlines rent the floor space where the lines form, how should that give them control over any part of access to the screening process? Does an airline's control over the gate and jetway give it control over the (asinine) TSA gate screening process?

Are there any other examples where private control of the area in front of a place where the government provides a service, especially a law enforcement or public safety-related service, grants the private entity the right to control access to that service?

Exactly, which is a fact the author even mentioned, but then continued to ignore while whining about it.

The bottom line - the TSA leases space from the airport for their checkpoint. They have no control over how lines are presented to them, nor can they force lines to queue in a certain way. Even their silly ski-slope lanes are done with the partnership and blessing of the airports involved, who could pull the plug if they so wished.

The people who want to whine about 'elites and first class' getting faster lane access should whine to the airlines and airport managers - and see how far they get.

By TSA's own policy admissions, you do not enter the Security C/P until you have passed the TSA TDC. They have also stated that they do not care about the elite line privileges granted by the airlines at various airports. If they want to take ownership of all of the lines to their TDC, then they can control the entire access process. As long as a valid leasing contract already exists between the Airline and the Airport for the floor space prior to the federal government's "eminent domain" floor space, then YES, the airlines have the privilege of managing that space accordingly.

I have witnessed GAs walk over to the TSOs performing gate searches, back when they were doing them at BWI, and advise them that the process was in danger of causing a delayed departure. At that point, the TSOs finished the current "selectee" and packed out. There have been anecdotal posts in this forum by both other travelers and TSO members stating that this is the correct policy that TSA has negotiated with the airlines. So, it would appear that, yes, the Airlines do have a smidgen of control over the asinine gate check secondary policies.

Sure - look at most government offices in leased office buildings. The PRIVATE security company can decide, on whatever whim they wish, that badged employees are allowed to enter before John Q. Public.

Any real examples that don't involve aberrant or illegal behavior? It's one thing to deny access people based upon disruptive behavior; it's another to grant different levels of access to government services based upon commercial relationships.

How's this example: A busy SSA office in a mall with long lines going out the door onto mall property. What if the mall, instead of telling the SSA to resolve the situation, decided to give loyal mall customers the ability to use an "elite" line? Those people granted favor by the mall would use a short line, while others would have to wait for hours. Would this be acceptable?

For people that aren't elite, why does it matter that they have to wait in line for longer than those of us that travel very frequently (I had this conversation with my family the other night)? If you're only on the road 3-4 times/trips a year, your time in line w/ TSA is minimal (even if you factor in holiday travel waits) - so why even waste your time/energy complaining about a process that you use so infrequently?

:confused:

Firstly airlines pay to prioritise me. Secondly, most elite pax get through security quicker so a separate line means the main line is much shorter than it would otherwise be.

Really. So I take ~150 flights per year, pay the 9/11 security fee and various other taxes and charges on each and every flight, but I pay equally through my taxes? :confused:

I believe that's incorrect, unless by "lease" you mean "uses without paying".

Seriously though, the length of a line for a service is part of the quality of that service. For what kind of service transaction would you say that the wait is not related to the quality of service? Since the lines and their length are inherently linked to the quality of service provided by the TSA, allowing private entities control over those lines allows those entities to control the quality of the TSA's service.

It the end, wouldn't it be fairer to allocate "elite" access based on the number of TSA screenings a traveler has paid for in the past year?

First, not in the US. For the second, the logic escapes me. If you take all the supposedly slow people and put them on a separate line to the same checkpoint, you expect that line to move FASTER?