# Are airlines turning TSA pre-screening into a profit center?



## CHamilton (May 20, 2014)

Pay United for early boarding, get TSA prescreened



> United Airlines will let you jump the boarding queue if you pay them extra on each flight. It’s called Premium Access, and it lets you jump the line and board right after first class passengers. This gets you on the plane when the overhead bins are mostly empty, ensuring you can put your carryon bag in a bin near your seat. Given the hassles of getting to the airport, clearing security, and boarding the plane, this extra cost service relieves one of the burdens of flying.
> 
> 
> I recently purchased Premium Access on a round trip with United, and was surprised when I downloaded the boarding pass for the first flight to see I also got prescreened by the TSA. It said so right on the boarding pass...
> ...


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## Green Maned Lion (May 20, 2014)

God people are paranoid.


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## SarahZ (May 20, 2014)

There is a lot of "I'm not sure" and "I don't know" in that article, which reads more like a wandering, stream-of-conscious blog post. I don't think it's worth the author getting paranoid, but I can see how others might use this as an excuse to freak out. For all we know, it was a printing error.

My company pays for Premium Boarding, and while that does give me access to the super-fast TSA line and boarding right after First Class, I still have to take my shoes off and remove my laptop. Given that I'm a pro at that by now, coupled with going through the Priority line, it really doesn't take much longer than 30 seconds to go through security. So even if it doesn't get you a free "pre-check" status, the Priority Boarding is still worth it (to me, anyway).


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## Trogdor (May 20, 2014)

Airlines can give random passengers access to the pre-check line. I think this has been in place for a year or so. It's not linked to buying priority access, which would of course defeat the purpose.


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## Devil's Advocate (May 20, 2014)

SarahZ said:


> There is a lot of "I'm not sure" and "I don't know" in that article, which reads more like a wandering, stream-of-conscious blog post. I don't think it's worth the author getting paranoid, but I can see how others might use this as an excuse to freak out. For all we know, it was a printing error.


I prefer my authors to be honest about what they do or do not know rather than to pretend to be an expert on something they're not genuinely familiar with. Here on AU we (deservedly) bash the press when they get it wrong but we also (needlessly) bash them even when they admit they're uncertain. Back to the topic at hand, if it was a mere printing error then the document scanner should have detected that mismatch. Unfortunately the TSA's verification systems are so simplistic that they have been tricked by forged documents in the past, although I have no reason to believe the author was being malicious in this case.



Trogdor said:


> Airlines can give random passengers access to the pre-check line. I think this has been in place for a year or so. It's not linked to buying priority access, which would of course defeat the purpose.


Originally Pre-Check was limited to a small number of participating airlines for use with frequent fliers with status. It was also possible to acquire through other trusted traveler programs such as Global Entry, SENTRI, and NEXUS. Over time the number of programs and airlines involved increased but the basic premise remained the same. What has changed more recently is that you can now purchase Pre-Check as a separate service unrelated to any other program or airline. I cannot currently provide a competing explanation for how the author received Pre-Check clearance without frequent flier or trusted traveler status beyond his theory of the Premier Access puchase.


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## jis (May 20, 2014)

Pre-Check is randomly given to people at TSA barriers too irrespective of what the airlines said. I noticed at Newark last week that a part of the regular line was being fed through the Pre-Check channel when it was otherwise less busy. Which of course further convinces me that most of it is for a good show to create a warm a fuzzy feeling in all, and any determined entity can get through with malicious intent and instruments if they tried hard enough.

Anyway the poor people who got directed to the Pre-Check channel were really confused as to why they do not have to disrobe and pull their baggage apart and were usually very happy campers when told they had struck the TSA lottery jackpot that day. 

OTOH Pre-Check is also randomly denied to people who are otherwise qualified. Happens more to those that qualified through frequent flier memberships and such than to those that came in through Global Entry or SENTRI or NEXUS where they actually had to go through a separate interview and validation. Before I registered my Global Entry number I used to get Pre-Check about 75% of the time. After registering my Global Entry number I have never had a denial.

And then of course there are those geniuses who have "Pre-Check" boldly printed on their boarding card and yet they go to a regular line to have the pleasure of disrobing and going through a scanner instead of a magnetometer. Go figure!

I also suspect that it depends on the perceived threat level at any given time as to what they will allow or deny.

BTW, AFAICT as long as you are not unfortunate enough to have your name on a no fly list and even if you do, you also happen to have a redress number, there is nothing stopping the airline from declaring you pre-check worthy. This idea that TSA does some fancy pre-checking for someone to get pre-check marked on their boarding card at least on some random basis (which is what it is for even frequent fliers)is mostly successful myth generation I think. And if you are on a no fly list without a redress number you will never be able to check in and get a boarding card in the first place to get to a TSA barrier, so most likely, TSA picking random people to allow through the pre-check line at the barrier is also no less secure for that reason than not allowing such.


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## SarahZ (May 20, 2014)

Devil's Advocate said:


> SarahZ said:
> 
> 
> > There is a lot of "I'm not sure" and "I don't know" in that article, which reads more like a wandering, stream-of-conscious blog post. I don't think it's worth the author getting paranoid, but I can see how others might use this as an excuse to freak out. For all we know, it was a printing error.
> ...


Oh, agreed. My point was more that you and I see that as a firm, "I'm not sure," but others may read it as fact simply because it's printed online. It was more of a preliminary, "Oh, here we go... this will be all over my relatives' Facebook pages," eyeroll on my part.


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## PRR 60 (May 20, 2014)

My hits for Pre-Check are in the 75% range, but oddly when my wife and I are traveling together on one PNR, it is not uncommon for one of us to get Pre-Check and one not. Typically the "not" is me. I working to solve that problem. Our Global Entry interviews are in two weeks.


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## JayPea (May 20, 2014)

Last year at Sea-Tac, while flying back to Spokane from Seattle, I noticed there were two different lines for screening: the regular one in which passengers took off their shoes and did the rest of the security rigamarole, and one for both premium passengers and for those who were boarding commuter flights to either Spokane or Portland. I guess those in charge either figured no one bound for Spokane or Portland would blow a plane up or they didn't care if someone blew up a plane bound for Spokane or Portland. :lol:  At any rate, naturally I took the commuter line and buzzed right though.


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## Devil's Advocate (May 20, 2014)

jis said:


> Pre-Check is randomly given to people at TSA barriers too irrespective of what the airlines said. I noticed at Newark last week that a part of the regular line was being fed through the Pre-Check channel when it was otherwise less busy. Which of course further convinces me that most of it is for a good show to create a warm a fuzzy feeling in all, and any determined entity can get through with malicious intent and instruments if they tried hard enough.


Understood, but how would that event result in your ticket having a Pre-Check approved label? That's the part I cannot explain away.


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## jis (May 20, 2014)

Airlines basically put pre-check on a random basis on boarding cards AFAICT. All that is different for frequent fliers is that they have a much higher probability of getting it than some random Joe. In the recent past I have come across people who barely fly finding themselves with a pre-check stamped boarding card wondering what to do with it.


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## neroden (May 20, 2014)

jis said:


> Which of course further convinces me that most of it is for a good show to create a warm a fuzzy feeling in all, and any determined entity can get through with malicious intent and instruments if they tried hard enough.


Yep.


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## City of Miami (May 20, 2014)

I have received pre-check on my last 2 boarding passes printed out at the airport. I am a nobody infrequent flier usually on Southwest.


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## NW cannonball (May 23, 2014)

I'm an infrequent flier, two flights last 2 weeks both had pre-check. I do have a frequent flyer account with United (last flight a year ago), but flights were on American and USAirways. Had no clue what pre-check meant until the TSA guy at MSP showed me to a shorter line and explained I wouldn't have to take my shoes off (I already had them off in the long line, belt into backpack, laptop out) - doh. Returning from LAX no "pre-check" on the boarding pass, but the TSA handed me a green pass to a shorter line, this time i was ready with boots and belt on, and laptop left in backpack. Slightly more convenient. Somewhat confusing to this infrequent flier.

The TSA pre-check FAQ is slightly helpful.

I sure didn't pay anybody anything for this small convenience.


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## chakk (May 23, 2014)

Both my wife and I have received TSA-pre-check several times on our individual flights several times in the past year and we have never paid any premium fees for this nicety. It does make for a somewhat faster trip through security. But the plane is still not going to leave until the passengers on my flight who are caught in the longer "regular" TSA lines get to the gate and board.


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## Devil's Advocate (May 23, 2014)

chakk said:


> Both my wife and I have received TSA-pre-check several times on our individual flights several times in the past year and we have never paid any premium fees for this nicety. It does make for a somewhat faster trip through security. But the plane is still not going to leave until the passengers on my flight who are caught in the longer "regular" TSA lines get to the gate and board.


I so wish they held flights whenever I get stuck in the kabuki theater line.


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## jis (May 23, 2014)

I have seen many flights depart close to on time even though some checked in passengers were not on board. Specially if said passengers had no checked baggage to haul out of the bottom of the aircraft.


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## jis (Nov 16, 2014)

Just re-posting a link that I had posted a while back on Facebook and Ryan had posted on a thread in AU, regarding the underbelly of the enhanced TSA scanning using fancy technology.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131019/02322924936/accidentally-revealed-document-shows-tsa-doesnt-think-terrorists-are-plotting-to-attack-airplanes.shtml

This and related facts I think are behind the general opening up of the TSA-Pre program More broadly. The other reason is that it is much much quicker to process the the so called sheep through Magnetometers than through the fancy machines, partly because the fancy machines produce too many false positives. Apparently something as silly as a wrong kind of crinkle in your clothing can produce a false positive. And when that happens they have to pat you down. Specially when using these fancy machines to process the select few whose lottery numbers came up, it is apparently faster to do just a pat down foregoing the fancy machines. Ah the irony of it all. The security folks in India knew this all along and managed save themselves hundreds of millions of dollars as a result.  Now that the political patronage has been taken care of and the money that was to be made or lost, made or lost, it is time to unwind the silliness. The X-Ray back scatter are already headed to junk yards. The other high tech scanners are still around but surprisingly many of them now have a Magnetometer next to them!

At least at Newark I have seen overflow people from the regular line whose boarding cards come up with a single beep (and not three as is the case for TSA-Pre marked boarding cards) sent randomly through the TSA-Pre checkpoint when it is not that busy in the TSA-Pre line.

Well, my Global Entry membership is nearing its expiry after 5 years, so I got a renewal notice. Submitted the renewal application electronically last week, the $100 membership fee paid by American Express, or United or my company, I forget which one I used. Was pre-cleared in two days, requiring an interview before it was approved fully. Set up an appointment at the Orlando Global Entry Enrollment Center at the International Airport for yesterday. Went in there half hour before my appointed time. I was invited in immediately and processed with a new photo and set of finger prints in 6 minutes flat and was told that the approval letter is on its way. When I got back home and checked at the GOES site, the extension approval had been completed and I am good through 2020. The membership always expires on your birthday in the 5th year after your original membership date. The extension is for an additional 5 years from the previous expiry date apparently no matter when you have the extension processed after you received the renewal notice. They also remind you to put in your GOES Id number into the Tsa-Pre system. The number does not change at renewal. So if you had it already listed you don;t have to do anything more to continue to be on the TSA-Pre list.


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