Random screening algorithm changed?
 

Just when I though I had the system beat by waiting for the first and second passengers to become the sacrificial victims to the security wand...

In three of the last four domestic segments I flew, the security guys waited for people to line up and then picked 1-3 people out of that line to start screening.

Of course, I got picked in all three of these segments. In one I was the 10th or so in the line and I was picked by the security guy who walked all the way back to my position in line to invite me to the search desk to be the first to be screened and this within two hours after being screened for the previous segment. I feel so privileged. Random, eh?

Of course, the systemn can still be beat by keeping out of sight until they pick someone and go by when they are busy screening.

Another tip for those that do not look like anything like "typical" terrorists. Make sure you are not standing next to someone likely to be picked for screening for their looks in this new algorithm. You stand a high chance of also being picked to establish the non-discriminatory nature of the "random" selection http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Probably the same reason why when I was going back and forth to lovely Lagos, BA had screening at the gate -- They don't trust the main security screeners!

About 6 weeks ago I was hanging back when a domestic flight was about to board. One of the agents when around about a dozen people at the gate and eventually saw that I had a boarding card and looked at it. His finger made its way to the bottom of the boarding card to where it was imprinted that I had used Easy Checkin - and then directed me to a security screener. He then let a the herd of people in front of me waiting at the gate board immediately.

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From a kiwi who can fly!

That was the right thing to do. Hanging around to see if you could avoid being picked for a search is suspicious behavior.

I'll say it again.. The gate screening is useless...

If they are not going to pull people for a real suspicous reason (OTHER than looks, e.g. ticket purchase -one way vs. rnd trip, ID that may not be legit, etc..) then stop doing the gate screening - for real gate screening to work they need to check ALL people. They do this quite well on flights to the UK leaving Germany and France (mainly to check immigration paperwork/passports)

It boils down to if they are doing the job correctly when you FIRST go through screening, why rescreen at the gate???

There is NO legitimate security reason to do this other than to make people feel "safer". I've been boarded TWICE on a tight connection when the security screener already left - so tell me what use is it but to inconvenience people and take screening agents away from the security checkpoints.

I would rather have MORE agents at the security checkpoints rotating through - with people getting sufficent breaks so they are at their best and alert. With the crowds the way they are at airports it won't be long before some agents just become complacent due to continual day in day out workloads.


[This message has been edited by NickP 1K (edited 07-04-2002).]

While boarding my flight to SFO from PDX yesterday, the first victims picked for screening were a family with three very young children.

I watched the whole process comfortably from my seat ... at a nearby gate. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

When the line seemed to be dwindling, I trundled on over to board the plane. At that point, one other person was picked to join what was already a fairly long screening queue. The passenger was travelling with a friend who evidently was not picked for "random" screening. For the second time ever, I overhead the screener suggest to the "victim" that she hand over all of her bags to her friend so the process would go faster! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

If one is needlessly going to harass passengers by subjecting them to this "random" pre-boarding security, at least do it correctly. The point of all of this escapes me and evidently escapes the screener as well.

I was thinking about all of this discussion about how they every screener seems to have a new random, idiotic system and how it seems so useless... but if you think about our body of experience, if you take it on whole, what seems to be happening is that you can never tell what's going to happen at a given gate. You never know if they'll pick random people, the first person, the 5th people, ask someone to say a number, etc. I would say that this system is, perhaps accidentally, working. The only thing better would be to check EVERYONE (as happens often on LHR-TLV flights), but that adds quite a lot of time and our airports are not built for it. I believe that this randomness is better than relying upon the gate screeners to pick out "suspicious" looking people... since I have little faith in their ability to pick out the right "suspicious" people based on looks alone.

I wish this were true. But it is still deterministic. Either you are the first couple in line or you look suspicious becaue of your looks or standing next to someone who looks suspicious and you look very unsuspicious. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Other than that, there is no other randomness.

You can still beat it by waiting until they are busy.

On top if it, in all the screenings they did, they missed enough things in their cursory look that if people were intentionally trying to get some objectionable items in, they wouldn't have much of a problem problem. So it is really not a deterrent.

Continetal disapproved of gate screening See: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stori es.pl?ACCT=204100&TICK=CAL&STORY=/www/story/06-19-2002/0001750209&EDATE=Jun+19,+2002

On the 6 points, see #5


See this AA release:

http://www.amrcorp.com/news/june02/03_cartsecurity.htm


I'm all for keeping the gate screeners IF THEY ADD VALUE, but do they ALWAYS have to pull people aside for a search? Why not observe who is boarding and if something doesn't seem right THEN pull someone aside. In other words if a flight has 20 people on it why feel inclinded to have to stop 2 people when no one looks or acts strange. For that to work though they will need people with an IQ higher than 100 and an understanding of many things (ticket purchase process, verifying fake travel documents/id's, etc.., etc)




[This message has been edited by NickP 1K (edited 07-04-2002).]

i have noticed in the ux terminal at lax they no longer randomly pick the first person in line. it varies quite a bit now.



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f

A few observations:

1. For several months, I was searched EVERY time when flying alone, but NEVER when flying with Mrs. G.

2. I am always searched when I fly other airlines alone (esp. discount airlines) but never when flying UA as a 1K.

3. In March, My wife and I witnessed a toddler getting shoe checks on WN in LAX. This was insane.

4. I agree that this really only gives a feeling of security. Sadly, there are many other security holes in the system.

Much hilarity on a DEN-OAK flight last night; they called for passengers to board and a whole group of people in first class and/or with status simply stood around the gate refusing to be the first person in line. The gate agent, exasperated, finally said "Does anyone want to get on this plane?" and called for people in the last few rows to board. Suckers. First person was pulled out, and the third person too. *Then* the people with status got on, none of them subject to extra scrutiny.

You're kidding, right? While in DEN recently, they picked a guy and literally tore apart his wallet... but didn't look into his bag http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

I wonder what would happen if we walked up to a security person as boarding was about to begin and asked politely to be searched?

Do you think they'd ignore us and purposely choose someone else?

Could this be a way around being searched?

I think we need to see more F/status folks telling the TSA to go to hell when it comes to these idiotic "random security" searches. Maybe if enough frequent fliers make their displeasure known by actively trying to avoid them, then that jackass Clown Field Marshal Norm Mineta will drop them from his foolish program...



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"Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry

One possible way to beat the system -- travel with young kids. My wife and I have been on about 12 flights since 9/11 and we have never been selected. Could it be the presence of our 5 and 2 year old kids?

In the first 5 months post 9/11, I was somehow selected about 50% of the time.
In the last 5 months, hardly at all. I (felt that I) was using the same techniques consistently to avoid being selected.

I was flying ONT-LAX-SFO this afternoon and at LAX took a VDB. No problem grabbing a free ticket and a seat on the next flight to SFO 20 minutes later.

When the CSR handed me my new boarding pass, it had the infamous S-S-S-S on it. I asked why when the boarding pass for my original flight didn't have it. She said that when you're rebooked, you're automatically selected for secondary screening.

So I went to the gate for my new flight and the screeners were sitting and chatting. I asked if they could do the screening now so I could board with the 1Ks and get overhead bin space. They insisted that I wait until the flight was called for boarding, which happened about 45 seconds later.

Apparently, now if you volunteer, not only do you get a difficult to use ticket instead of travel credit, but you also get a secondary screening. Oh, by the way, I was sitting on the plane of my original flight when the CSR came on board just before closing the door to get one more volunteer. Is there a place between gate 81 and gate 83 at LAX to pick up contraband?

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Biggest Little 1K (in The Biggest Little City) In The World

by this afternoon, i assume you mean 7/7. what flight were you on ont-lax? i was on 6119 at 1136am.



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f

I for one am glad they have stopped searching the first person who got in line and are selecting somebody from the first five or six. It became way too easy to get around just by being the second or third person in line, then you were pretty much guaranteed not to be picked. It's totally useless if you know where to stand to get picked or not (as a flyertalk person was quoted in USA Today on Friday saying how to avoid being searched at the gate).

While I agree they should be useless, the fact they still from time to time find things that were missed at the first check prove they are not totally useless.

I have seen families with young kids selected numerous times, most recently at PDX on July 3. I think at PDX they do this because its "easier." http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif SFO seems most interested in the physically challenged and elderly. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

She was wrong. I have been rebooked twice since March (once due to flight cancellation, once for VDB). I have never been sentenced to SSSS.

Also, both times I received travel credits instead of free ticket vouchers.

lol! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

(edited to fix UBB code)

[This message has been edited by Rare (edited 07-08-2002).]

I have been rebooked several times in the last month (from ONT to SFO, e.g) and didn't get the SSSS. I even volunteered my seat in Fort Wayne on AA and was taken and put on a United Express flight an hour later. I was sure that this (changing airlines, one way) would trigger the SSSS (that's what I had always been told), but it didn't. I have used the Easy Check-in at ORD about 10 times and never got the dreaded SSSS, even with an upgrade. BTW, it seems that almost 50 percent of the time the machine will tell you to go to an agent to complete the transaction if you have an upgrade confirmed (which I did on every use of the machine). So inconsistency is still consistent with United.