Reserve Your Place in an Airport Security Line?

by Catherine Bodry on

Pretty soon, you might be able to reserve a spot in an airport security line. The Travel Transportation Security Administration is considering a reservation system that would assign travelers an approximate screening time — and hopefully entice them to travel during off-peak hours. Waits could be reduced to 5 to 10 minutes.

But the logic behind the system seems a bit faulty: passengers would have to arrive 20 to 30 minutes earlier than usual, and would have to pay a fee. Doesn’t arriving early defeat the purpose of reserving a place? So why would I pay just to wait on the other side of security?

More on the TSA:

Register for a Fast Pass Through Airport Security

Travel Lessons We Can Learn From Summer 2007

Airport Security: Once You Go Through, There’s No Turning Back

I’m not the only naysayer; the article quotes several higher-ups in travel administration who believe a reservation system would be silly. Arguments against it include the fact that travelers already have an incentive to fly during off-peak times — lower rates. Also, many business travelers already belong to frequent flier clubs which reserve special security lines for their members.

I don’t mind the security line as long as I’m not in a hurry and I’ve got a book to read. It means I’m stretching my legs, preparing them for their long crunch when my plane is waiting in line on the tarmac.

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Clear Traveler: Register for a Fast Pass Through Airport Security

by Jamie Rhein on

Willy wrote about the Clear Registered Traveler Program in February, but last week when I heard yet another story about someone who keeps getting pulled in for hours of questioning because of his name, I wondered if this pass might help fix that situation.

Let’s say you’re one of those people whose names (or looks) gets you stopped for hours of questioning each time you meet up with airport security. Maybe your name is on the No-Fly list. Or perhaps, airport security moves too darned slowly for your tastes–you’re a frequent traveler, and if you were paid for the hours you’ve waited in airport lines, you’d be a rich person.

As Willy wrote, the Clear Registered Traveler Program serves as an early security check-point that, once you’ve been approved and pay your membership fee, you get to breeze through the subscriber security line at the airport using your Clear pass. Here’s a recap of how it works. First, you go through a background check for TSA approval, and once you are found to be a-okay, you’re issued a card that has your encrypted fingerprint image or an iris scan. This is not a through the mail process, but involves an in-person visit.

At the airport, you insert your card into a kiosk that reads it and matches the card with your fingerprint when you put your finger on the scanner. Once cleared, you get a clearance stamp that shows TSA you are good to go. You and your baggage still have to go through TSA screening, but I assume this is faster? Otherwise, what’s the darned pass for? Still, it does sound very James Bondy or something. This is biometrics, baby.

Not all airports have this service, but the list is growing. Clear security lanes in La Guardia in New York are the lastest ones–they were to open this month.

The membership fee runs about $100 per year. Here’s the link for how to join. If your security status changes, your membership is revoked. By, the way, I’m not sure if this would work if your name is on the No Fly List even though you are not the person who is the security threat, but a person who has the same name.

10 tips for smarter flying


Travel Lessons We Can Learn From Summer 2007

by Catherine Bodry on

Christopher Elliott took a couple of polls and determined that travel this summer wasn’t as bad as it seemed. 54 percent of those polled even said their summer travels had been “average.” You wouldn’t think so just by reading Gadling, let alone any other travel news.

But, Elliott concedes, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been a few rough patches. Flight delays, horrible customer service, an overburdened passport office and high fuel prices have all but made even the most enthusiastic travelers yell “uncle.”

So, what can we learn from all these? Elliott draws some lessons:


1. Apply for your passport early.

The massive backlog at the passport office continues to worsen. Since the U.S. government began requiring air travelers to Canada or Mexico to have a passport, thousands of vacations were delayed or canceled due to delayed delivery. And in 2008 all overland travelers will need a passport, which will no doubt create an even larger stack of paperwork. “Express” service has been lengthened, and what used to take 6 weeks now can take upwards of 3 months. Mine expires in June 2008 and I’ve got to get on it. However, that passport crunch might be over….

2. Air travel is actually worse than reported.

Sure, airfares are (sorta) low and there’s a decent safety record, but who cares about that when your flight’s been canceled? Not only is this possibly the worst summer ever for air travel, but it’s shaping up to be the worst year. We’ve certainly had a lot to say about it. Like here. And here. And there’s this story. And blogger Leif is on a one-man rampage against Northwest.

3. Europe sucks.

Well, Elliott is a lot classier than I, and didn’t actually use the term “suck.” That’s all me. But if you traveled in Europe this summer, you might have had a sucky time. The dollar was at an all-time high low against the Euro (for 120 days, mind you!), luggage was lost like socks in a dryer, and Heathrow was more politely described by another blogger here at Gadling as “shabby and slow” (read: sucky). However, I have a hard time imagining that Europe wouldn’t be worth all the hassle. Even with the Eurotrash.

4. Mind the gap.

It’s as if Hurricane Katrina didn’t teach us one thing about aging infrastructure. After Minneapolis’s I35W bridge collapsed, we all paid more attention to the state of bridges and highways in the U.S. But will that save lives? The Transportation Department recorded an all-time low in traffic fatalities in 2006, and 2007 is following suit. Let’s hope the bridges continue to hold out.

5. TSA really sucks.

Again, we’ve had nothing but awful news to report here on the state of airport security. From laughable errors to scary incompetence, airport security has gotten a lot of flack this summer. And it’ll probably get more; according to Elliott, the new “Secure Flight” initiative threatens to take even more of our civil liberties away, even though it claims to protect travelers’ privacy. At least there are products out there to help us have fun with TSA.


Planning a trip? Check out our Travel Guides.

6. High fuel prices won’t stop us from taking our hard-earned vacations.

8 in 10 travelers complained about gas prices, but in general more people were taking road trips (perhaps because their flights were canceled? Just a thought). I know high fuel prices didn’t keep me from driving the 2500 miles from Seattle to Seward — but the prices also gave me something to complain about all the way through Canada. But mercifully, gas prices dropped a bit in June.

7. If your airline blames the weather, they’re probably lying.

How many times can you use the same excuse? Can’t the weather be filed away under “ancient clichés” with dog-eaten homework and it’s-not-you-it’s-me excuses?

It’s nearly impossible to disprove a weather excuse, and by blaming an “act of God,” the airlines get out of taking responsibility for a delayed or canceled flight. I predict more bad weather on the horizon for air travel.

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Holy Water Seized by Airport Security

by Catherine Bodry on

Even holy water must be in a 3-ounce container sealed in a 1-quart plastic bag. Catholic pilgrims on the recently inaugurated Mistral Air found this rule out the hard way, when vials of holy water collected at Lourdes were taken by airport security. The company’s president admitted that international regulations have to be respected.

However, unlike other airlines we’ve written about recently, Mistral Air took care of their passengers. The airline left small Madonna-shaped bottles full of holy water on every seat for when the 145 pilgrims came back on board.

Read the full article here.

TSA Website Estimates length of Security Line at your Local Airport

by Neil Woodburn on

If you’re one of those gate runners who is always sprinting frantically to catch your flight here in the United States, you may want to spend a moment over at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website.

Although the TSA are the ones who are usually holding us up in long security lines, they are also the ones who have a pretty good idea how long it takes to get through theses very lines.

Since security wait times vary drastically depending upon how many knuckle heads in front of you are packing prohibited liquids, the folks at TSA have nicely organized average wait times according to airport, terminal, day of week, and time of day. Simply find your departure airport, plug in your time, and a list of average wait times based upon the prior four weeks of activity will pop up.

Now you can get to the airport just a little bit later and still make your flight–although I wouldn’t advise it.