Elite fliers get their own, shorter, security lines again

— -- VIP travelers are now finding more options to escape long lines at security checkpoints.

At some of the largest airports in the USA, elite-level fliers are increasingly rerouted to exclusive lines designed to speed them along and isolate them from the madding crowd.

Exclusive lines had been around for years, until security concerns arising from 9/11.

Now in a down economy, airlines are bringing them back to establish consistency and retain business passengers who buy full-fare tickets or are elite members of loyalty programs.

"Airlines want to recognize travelers who are paying more," says Tim Campbell, executive director of Baltimore-Washington International. "From airports' perspective, it doesn't harm travelers' flow."

Among the trends seen as airport VIP lines unfold:

•Low-cost carrier involvement. For the first time, populist Southwest Airlines introduced a program to accelerate checkpoint screening for customers paying Business Select, its highest fare category. Its Fly By lines are now at seven airports, including Dallas Love Field, Baltimore/Washington, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Orange County John Wayne, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The airline plans to open lines at other airports before the end of the year, possibly including Las Vegas McCarran, spokeswoman Brandy King says.

•Heightened marketing. American Airlines said last month that it will improve checkpoint lines at 16 of its largest airports. Unlike its first-class lines at other airports, the new PriorityAAcess lines will not be shared with customers of other carriers (except for its alliance member carriers). And its signs will be "well marked" and "more consistent," says Andrea Huguely, spokeswoman for American.

Among the airports where its lines were rolled out recently: Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O'Hare, New York's Kennedy and LaGuardia, Miami, Los Angeles, St. Louis, San Francisco, Boston and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The most elite members of its frequent-flier program, full-fare coach customers, AAirpass members (who buy prepaid tickets at a fixed rate), and passengers in business and first class can use the lanes. The carrier plans to expand it at other airports, Huguely says.

•Government programs. Traditionally, the Transportation Security Administration's responsibility is solely for the security lanes, where the screening takes place. The airlines or the airport are responsible for the lines leading up to the lanes.

But the TSA, in working with airports, has started to pay greater attention to lines leading up to screening. Its Diamond Self-Select program, which started as a trial earlier this year, isolates self-identified "expert" travelers into their own lines from families or leisure travelers who may need more time or assistance.

The program has grown quickly, with 45 airports now participating. The TSA says its expert traveler lines are moving on average 30% faster than the average line, while the speed of the lines for less experienced travelers or families has not decreased. "Passengers have told us that they want to go at their own pace," TSA spokesman Christopher White says. "Passengers aren't as rushed to get to the metal detector and are under less stress."

Another TSA-approved program, Registered Traveler lanes, has grown to 21 airports. It provides speedy lanes for members willing to pay an annual subscription fee of $100 to $200 to private companies that operate the program.

TSA's White says the various options at an airport could lead to "redundancy," but that the agency "will support any initiative that brings down stress."

Stephanie Dickey, a sales vice president in Richmond, Texas, says shorter lines are one of the best perks of being an elite-level flier. "I can get through security in a flash, even with lots of stuff," says Dickey, who flies 250,000 miles a year. "I know the drill and am organized before I get up there. I am glad the airlines appreciate us enough to give us a shorter trip."

An ongoing experiment at the world's busiest airport in passenger count, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson, illustrates the growing options. Hartsfield has three checkpoints at the main terminal and, on busy mornings, the lines can flow over into to the adjacent food court.

The airport, which has recently increased its checkpoint lanes from 22 to 32, is expected to announce today that it will join the TSA's Diamond Self-Select program. It will reserve up to six lanes for expert travelers and premium customers of Delta and other airlines. Its Registered Traveler members will have their own lines until they get to the screening lanes, where they will merge with other passengers.

The question of whether special lines are fair persists among passengers, however, as some economy travelers grumble that lines for federal security screening shouldn't be class-based, aviation consultant Mike Boyd says. "Some might say, 'I thought security was a national priority. Why don't I get priority?,' " Boyd says.

Frequent flier Sammy Tawil, an imported-tile company executive in Allenhurst, N. J., defends his access to shorter lines. "You can't compare a traveler like myself who boards a plane over 350 times a year to a leisure traveler who flies two to three times a year."

Carl Newman, Phoenix Sky Harbor International's assistant aviation director, says the airport is sensitive to the issue. Like Atlanta, the airport runs various premium lines and is considering opening Registered Travel lanes.

"If only a small number of people are using the lane and if other lanes are going to be longer (as a result), we probably won't do it," he says. "But folks paying premium for those tickets probably ought to be provided upgraded services."