SEA Not-so premier line
 

Ignoring the installation of the nude scanners at all gates in SEA, they have a real issue with the way that the lines work.

The premiere line is on the far right. On Friday afternoon (one of the busier travel times of the week), they had the regular line split into 2. One fed into its own TSA desk, the second would then feed into the same TSA desk that the premier line went to.

Result: The premier line was significantly slower than the regular line.

When I went through it was taking about 25 minutes. About 30 minutes later the line wait had increased to 45 minutes.

I talked to the gate manager who has always done a good job. He mentioned that the TSA has new management which isn't making things easier. He said that they are working with them to try and get it figured out.

I have found this too. For the redeye flights, there isn't even a premier line!

I normally get in the premier line and cut over to another line. I find that often employees tend to cut infront of premier line customers as well

This happens occasionally at DEN as well. The premier line sometimes gets choked up with passengers and has a single TSA agent checking BP's and ID's; the general security line has 4-6 TSA agents and even though it is 3x as long, it moves 4x as fast.

IME, they send premiere line customers down to the right along the glass wall where there is a dedicated TSA agent checking ID's and two XRAY machines/metal detectors. Sounds like these lines were not open when you came through.

My experience has been about 1/3rd down to the right, and 2/3rds straight in, even when the lines to the right are open.

And I agree the premier line has gotten much less premier at SEA. I sometimes go down to the next security line and get in that one by saying (truthfully) I want to shop at the main concourse before heading out to N terminal. They always grumble that UA 1Ks aren't supposed to be allowed in that line, but they always let me in. Not that it's usually much shorter than N premier.

I hope TSA does get it figured out soon.

Quite true. I was in the line at SEA on Friday also, and saw this happen. Non-premier line moved way more quickly. The employees seem to use this line because it's the closest to the entranceway. I wonder whether we might want to reconfigure to move the premier line to the other (i.e., left) side.

Sadly the line has improved since the revamping of security.

My last 3 flights out of SEA, premier line has been taken along the far right side and my wait has been roughly 5 minutes.

Redeyes never really seem to have a great deal of traffic, and I have been safe getting there an hour before departure and walking right thru

???


"has" or "has not"?

JFK has succumbed to the same issue. The UA red/blue Premier sign is worthless if they aren't separating the lines out and the red coats could care less about enforcing it.

The Premier lines seem to be a bit faster at IAH, but not a huge difference depending on the time of day/day of week.

Has.

Let me clarify.

Before the revamping of security the Premier line worked great.

The first week or two after the revamping there were several issues. TSA agents basically ignored the Premier line. There were many complaints made at the RCC.

Since then it sadly has improved.

one is not relegated to the single TSA podium the line feeds to. at the front of the line, any of the podium can be used

The whole system at SEA is just plain inefficient. They bottleneck everyone through that 1 door and then spit them out for a free for all to the X-Ray/scanners in which people are always trampling over everyone else. I also noticed that the "premier" line was seriously lacking the last few times I went through. It seems that around 3 p.m. is the best time to go through security there.

Doesn’t help that I always pick that 1 line where the 90's grunge dude is wearing 9 chains attached to his wallet, studded jacket and steel toe boots that takes him 15 minutes to take off before going through the metal detector.

There were none four hours ago when we went through.

I didn't think it was that bad - I've definitely seen worse. This morning, they seemed to have two elite lines - one on the right of the others, and one that bypassed all the others (I don't know where this second one ended up though, as we were in the first).

Our bottleneck this morning was a pilot...

Except for when they've got the access to the rest of the lines roped off (since we're speaking of DEN).