I just flew out of SFO yesterday (11/29) in first class. I asked at check-in if there was a priority lane and the agent said sometimes it is there. I went up to a TSA agent who was directing traffic and asked if there was a premium lane for first class. She walked me over to an area on the right side and gave me a short cut to the front.

First time flying VX out of SFO today (return flight to FLL), and I was gobsmacked at the crush of humanity at security for Int'l Terminal A. For an 11:10 flight, I got to the security checkpoint at about 10:15, but didn't get through to the other side until 11:00 am. Forty-five minutes in that rotten line, panicked about making my flight, crushed in with a few hundred int'l pax. I was completely unprepared for this experience, and obviously had to scrap my plans for hanging out for a leisurely drink in the NW/DL SkyClub.

Someone in line mentioned that as a VX passenger if you spend the $35 for a daypass to the VS Clubhouse, you also get shorter priority screening. Hmmm. Might have to confirm that next time.

A few nervous passengers were showing their boarding passes to screeners and getting moved to the Families/Medical Liquids line at far right. Some seemed to be premium int'l pax; others were just close to flight time. My BP said "Priority" on it, but that was just because I had paid to upgrade to Main Cabin Select. I didn't have the chutzpah to ask the screeners if that would have been enough to join the shorter line.

It did, however, save me at the gate. A baggage supervisor -- clearly not a gate agent -- pulled me aside and said all rollaboards had to be checked because the flight was very full. (In fact, it was moderately light.) I explained that I was flying MCS, and he said, "Oh, in that case go right on board." There was lots of overhead space on board... I have to wonder why he was standing around harassing people who were already stressed from just making the flight.

I wish VX would post something on their website to the effect of "While we occupy gates in Concourse A, please note that 10 am to 1 pm are peak hours for SFO international travel and lines may be an hour or more long."

Ummm....
The whole point of this thread is the "Priority" line @ SFO. You had a "Priority" boarding pass and you were too chicken to ask someone which line was the "Priority" line?

I don't get the point of your post at all.

:td:

The point of my post was that

a) there was no consistency among the screeners, some of whom were telling pax -- like the guy behind me in line flying int'l J -- that there was no premium line any more for any premium cabin or elite flyers and some of whom were letting the squeaky wheels use the "medical liquids and families" line

and

b) I'd hoped to get helpful feedback from other VX flyers whether Main Cabin Select should qualify for use of a priority screening line (when there is one), or just F. I took my BP to mean priority in boarding, and to have nothing to do with TSA.

Never mind... just called VX to clear it up.

They said that all MCS and F customers are welcome to use priority screening lines (where they exist), and that's why the BP has "Priority" on it (separate from Boarding Group A). The postings in this thread before mine dealt only with VX pax in F, not MCS, so I had nothing to go on before calling. And as I said, I was caught completely off-guard by the hundreds of people all trying to get through Concourse A security at that hour, and even the 2 screeners who checked my BP didn't say anything about qualifying to use a different line.

This was my first VX flight and now I know. And now others reading the thread know that their MCS boarding pass entitles them to ask for priority access.

Hi, Horizons:

Yes, your MCS BP includes priority screening.

Avoid 10am - Noon PT VS flights!
 

There are up to five 747 / 777 flights to Asia that leave around Noon. It is a madhouse through security so either allow lots of time or ensure you have some sort of priority (like bring a baby with you).

How is it about 800 AM?

Priority screening DOES in fact exist at SFO Int'l A (sort of).

I fly BA a few times a year from SFO. A couple weeks ago, the agent handed me a pre-printed paper for premium passengers that entitled me to priority screening (don't remember exactly what was printed on the paper-- I should have kept it). I was instructed to go to the front of the line and hand it to the TSA agent. I did, and the agent clearly had seen this paper before, and I was straight through to the front of the line.

Now, I've noticed that as VX has added flights and more people are flying VX, the lines at Int'l A can be long (not more than 20 minutes though). This was not the case a year or two ago (at least for the European, mid-afternoon, early evening departures), and it would have been almost pointless to have a premium line.

I wonder if BA and other international airlines operating from SFO made a deal with the airport to get their premium pax to the front with these passes since there is no Fast Track security at the international terminal, and the lines have become worse?

I flew VX out of SFO last week, and was surprised by how long the lines are now at 8am. It wasn't horrible -- the security check-point at A is well-designed -- and I was through in about 15 minutes.

In the event that anyone is still following this... I'm assuming there is now (in 2013) a priority lane for Virgin at SFO?

Yes, in Terminal 2 the priority lane is at the far left and is shared with AA pax.

Thanks, I appreciate your reply. I'm flying out to JFK tomorrow in main cabin select. Good to know.

Is this still the situation for VX at SFO, regarding F/MCS pax?

BTW what about ORD priority security?

And what about precheck at both airports?

Thank you!
Michael

SFO T-2: Pre is at the far left. Priority is just to the right of Pre.

The screeners are nice, but at least in T2, the Priority Line is particularly pointless as the majority of the "line" substantively occurs after the ID check. This transfers most of the wait time to the post-ID check area, where there is no priority line.