No more preferred line at TPA

Old Jul 19, 2014, 6:49 am
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No more preferred line at TPA

I just found out the hard way this morning. Almost missed my flight. It sounds like they are pushing everyone towards pre-check but in the short term it would've been nice to get some advance notice. The Prospect guy said it changed yesterday, the WN lady said she didn't even know about it and it's the airport's call, and they could change it from day to day. Either way, someone is getting an email from me.

It would also be nice if I could get pre-check too but that's another thread.
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Old Jul 19, 2014, 7:49 am
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The goal -- and it has been highly publicized -- is to get 85% of the flying public into PC by the end of 2015 and to adjust the allocation of lanes accordingly.

$85 for 5 years through TSA or $100 for GE through CBP (if you do any international travel).
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Old Jul 19, 2014, 9:36 am
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I've been trying to get an appointment at my local processing center for the background check for the last six months and they're continually booked solid for the entire 45-day maximum window. If the TSA wants 85% of the people to enroll in pre-check in the next 18 months, they should have the capability to process 85% of the people.
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Old Jul 19, 2014, 9:41 am
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I've been patiently waiting for my invite but i might just bite the bullet and fork over the cash.

But my main beef is just the unannounced change. I figured it was coming at some point though.
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 6:22 am
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According to multiple TSA agents this morning in TPA, they all told me that it was SW's call on ending the Fly By Lane. Seeing how cheap and how far downhill SW has gone in recent times, I believe them.
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 6:27 am
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There is no guarantee that precheck, (invited or extorted) will appear on your BP. Mine does mostly, but at least three times in the past 6 months it has not. Eliminating the preferred line will certainly make travel an even greater delight.
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 9:50 am
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Originally Posted by Often1
The goal -- and it has been highly publicized -- is to get 85% of the flying public into PC by the end of 2015 and to adjust the allocation of lanes accordingly.

$85 for 5 years through TSA or $100 for GE through CBP (if you do any international travel).
I'm not trying to split hairs here, but my understanding is not that the goal "is to get 85% of the flying public into PreCheck", but rather that 85% of passengers will get PreCheck. The difference is that some passengers who are not Known Travelers (e.g., PreCheck or Global Entry) or Invited Participants (e.g., airline elite members) will get PreCheck, as is already occurring. TSA could start giving 85% of passengers PreCheck today if they wanted to, but most airports are not yet equipped to handle that many PreCheck passengers.

To get to 85% what will be happening is even passengers who are not Known Travelers or Invited Participants will get PreCheck a significant amount of the time (50% or so ...).
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 10:15 am
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Originally Posted by Often1
The goal -- and it has been highly publicized -- is to get 85% of the flying public into PC by the end of 2015 and to adjust the allocation of lanes accordingly.
Where is the 85% PreCheck participation goal in TSA releases?

If it's "highly publicized" it shouldn't be hard to source.
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 10:30 am
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Originally Posted by Beckles
I'm not trying to split hairs here, but my understanding is not that the goal "is to get 85% of the flying public into PreCheck", but rather that 85% of passengers will get PreCheck. The difference is that some passengers who are not Known Travelers (e.g., PreCheck or Global Entry) or Invited Participants (e.g., airline elite members) will get PreCheck, as is already occurring. TSA could start giving 85% of passengers PreCheck today if they wanted to, but most airports are not yet equipped to handle that many PreCheck passengers.

To get to 85% what will be happening is even passengers who are not Known Travelers or Invited Participants will get PreCheck a significant amount of the time (50% or so ...).
I think this is what will happen. As TSA's Secure Flight database gets bigger they will be able to identify most frequent fliers and include them in. I'm not an invitee nor do I have a KTN and I'm already getting close to 30% (I got it yesterday in fact). My wife who flies more than I do would already be approaching 50%, if she weren't flying Airtran a lot.
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 10:59 am
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Originally Posted by LegalTender
Where is the 85% PreCheck participation goal in TSA releases?

If it's "highly publicized" it shouldn't be hard to source.
Agreed. I've never seen this figure stated. Searching for these terms returns results about 85% of the frequent flyers giving TSA a Fair or Poor rating, and TSA charging $85 for PreCheck.
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 2:11 pm
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I have heard the goal of 85% before ... not sure the original source, and maybe it's just FT hearsay, but Googling "TSA Precheck Goal Participation" I did find this story at the top of the list which discusses some more short-term goals:
TSA Administrator John Pistole set an end-of-2013 goal to funnel 25 percent of all travelers through speedier security arrangements, which includes PreCheck and gentler processing for those 75 and older and children 12 and younger (both populations can leave their shoes and light coats on). He hopes to goose the number to 50 percent by the close of 2014.
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 2:28 pm
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Originally Posted by Beckles
I have heard the goal of 85% before ... not sure the original source, and maybe it's just FT hearsay, but Googling "TSA Precheck Goal Participation" I did find this story at the top of the list which discusses some more short-term goals:
In my personal experience, it would seem like way less than 25% of the flying public is now being funneled through the PreCheck lanes.
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 2:31 pm
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All of the TSA participation goal talk is irrelevant if it truly was Southwest's call to cancel the Fly By Priority Lane in TPA (which is what I have been told by multiple people). It just seems that SW is trying to make whatever choice would be the worst for their frequent business travelers. At this point, I can't think of a single benefit that I get from SW that I wouldn't get the same or better benefit from a real airline.
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 2:32 pm
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Originally Posted by ursine1
In my personal experience, it would seem like way less than 25% of the flying public is now being funneled through the PreCheck lanes.
^
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Old Jul 23, 2014, 9:20 am
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Originally Posted by sheidt
All of the TSA participation goal talk is irrelevant if it truly was Southwest's call to cancel the Fly By Priority Lane in TPA (which is what I have been told by multiple people).
Agreed. I sent them an email and the auto-reply said to expect an answer within 30 days
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