Delta Helps TSA Fix Security Checkpoints

Megalith

Megalith

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…it took over a million bucks for them to come up with the revolutionary idea of adding additional stations and automated conveyors?

Delta has been working on something it calls "innovation lines," a slightly modified version of the normal TSA checkpoints that already bog down every airport. After spending over a million dollars in an attempt to fix the system, it seems like they've arrived at a solution. Even if it's not the best possible option, it's got to be better than what we've got. Delta's innovation lines rely on a couple of tweaks. Instead of having passengers bin-up their stuff one at a time, the innovation lines have five designated stations so that the whole line isn't held up by one person who can't fish their keys out of their pocket.
 
They could have used a word like "acceleration" or "maximization". But no: they jumped straight to the word, "innovation". While the government is busy making us feel safer rather than making us actually safer, we can also -- while we wait -- feel gratitude for the "innovation" of corporate America.
 
I watched this video, and the same thing could have been accomplished by just handing a bin to the first 10-15 people in line (and maybe adding a narrow chest high table, like you see in some banks)

The fancy table, with the fancy conveyor system, was totally unnecessary.

Instead of taking 2 months and a million dollars, it would have taken 20 minutes and $100
 
The #1 fix for the long lines is removing the idiots going through the lines. People are what's causing the backup because they seem to be caught off guard by the whole process. Look at all the stuff they catch people with everyday. Every person who takes more than 30 seconds to remove their shoes or who is carrying something not allowed is a major cause of the backup. More agents might help but if the passengers used a little more brain power the system would be more efficient. That's not to say the TSA doesn't have some blame but the general public, IMO, is a major factor.

I've been using the TSA pre-check for a few years and it's been great. Takes a lot less time to get through security even during the holidays.
 
Just fly First Class and avoid the lines ;)

Edit: That was a lot of sarcasm, but I actually do pay for first class often in busy airports - going to GnR over the 4th in Chicago and it was $70/ticket more for first and sky priority takes about 5 minutes vs 3 hours at Ohare.
 
Good grief this is so simple to fix!!!! Take all the people from the VA and switch them to the TSA problem solved. If that doesn't work switch all the people at the DMV with the folks at the post office and things will get 10x faster.
 
the_servicer said:
They could have used a word like "acceleration" or "maximization". But no: they jumped straight to the word, "innovation". While the government is busy making us feel safer rather than making us actually safer, we can also -- while we wait -- feel gratitude for the "innovation" of corporate America.
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Only the private sector can speed up air travel through innovation, maximization and acceleration. This new paradigm in travel already makes me feel safer. sigh
 
Sp33dFr33k said:
The #1 fix for the long lines is removing the idiots going through the lines. People are what's causing the backup because they seem to be caught off guard by the whole process. Look at all the stuff they catch people with everyday. Every person who takes more than 30 seconds to remove their shoes or who is carrying something not allowed is a major cause of the backup. More agents might help but if the passengers used a little more brain power the system would be more efficient. That's not to say the TSA doesn't have some blame but the general public, IMO, is a major factor.
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No, removing shoes is just another one of the stupid parts of this security show they are running. Instead of having everyone remove their shoes, they could just run a bomb sniffing dog down the line, or pull out anyone who is acting
suspicious.
The TSA holds up the line taking nail clippers from people, yet they missed 67 out of 70 items run through on tests a couple years ago.


Prescreening is ok if you travel all the time, but not usable for someone who flies maybe once a year.
They should allow anyone with an active US passport to be screen the same way.
 
nutzo said:
No, removing shoes is just another one of the stupid parts of this security show they are running. Instead of having everyone remove their shoes, they could just run a bomb sniffing dog down the line, or pull out anyone who is acting
suspicious.
The TSA holds up the line taking nail clippers from people, yet they missed 67 out of 70 items run through on tests a couple years ago.


Prescreening is ok if you travel all the time, but not usable for someone who flies maybe once a year.
They should allow anyone with an active US passport to be screen the same way.
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Dude, this is the gubmint. It is easier to just have people take their shoes off than to start worrying about bomb sniffing dogs and then paying for them at an inflated cost because of how inefficient they are.
 
nutzo said:
Prescreening is ok if you travel all the time, but not usable for someone who flies maybe once a year.
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The rest of your post is spot on, but this... how much would you pay to, essentially, skip the line? Because precheck is $85/5 years, or $17/year. Even if you're only flying once a year, isn't the $17 worth cutting an hour or more off the time you wait in line worth it?
 
Last couple of times I've flown, it wasn't people loading the bins causing the bottleneck, but the TSA agent running the X-ray machine spending way to long examining each item.
 
I see one issue with this system. Your bins getting missed up. I have 3 bins and 1 carry on when I go through security. I have my laptop in one bin, my case in another, and then my shoes and belt in another (my keys, wallet and everything else are already in my laptop bag before I get in line). So I would have to stop the people's items behind me to make sure that all 4 of my items go through together. Even without the laptop which most may not have you still have 1 bin and 1 bag. So you still have two items you need to keep together. People being prepared would make the entire process go much faster also. As somebody else started above you would think it was some people's first time going through security when they get up there. I myself while waiting in line to get up to have my licenses and boarding pass checked will start emptying all my pockets into my laptop bag, so by the time I get to the agent at best I have my phone if using that for a pass and my license in my hand. once that is handed back to me that goes into my bag. at that point I then untie my shoes and loosened my belt. by the time I get to the bins my laptop is out of its case and in my hands. I can have everything in 3 bins in about 20 - 30 seconds.

haste. said:
Just fly First Class and avoid the lines ;)

Edit: That was a lot of sarcasm, but I actually do pay for first class often in busy airports - going to GnR over the 4th in Chicago and it was $70/ticket more for first and sky priority takes about 5 minutes vs 3 hours at Ohare.
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Or you could just be me and have magic powers. ;) Two Mondays ago left Ohare at 10am to fly to Arizona. 25 minutes in line. Which of my 20 flights out of Ohare in the last 3 years is my second longest wait, top wait being about 35 - 40 minutes. Normally is about 4 - 10. All in the normal lines. I was stupid and never got the pre-check pass and now don't fly enough to care.

I always hear people bitch and moan about Ohare but I have yet to have any issues with any flights. Have flown from midway twice, both times waited in line almost 2 hours before all the current TSA trying to make a point issues here.

For your extra $70, you could just pay a little more for the TSA precheck. Then you get to go through that same first class line and be able to do so for every flight for 5 years. Of course you don't get to sit in first class, but for the average person spending $85 for 5 years of avoiding normal lines vs $70 per flight is a better choice. It isn't that hard to get the precheck, just give the TSA your SSN and they do a background check on you. Think it takes 3 weeks to get approved.
 
Tawnos said:
The rest of your post is spot on, but this... how much would you pay to, essentially, skip the line? Because precheck is $85/5 years, or $17/year. Even if you're only flying once a year, isn't the $17 worth cutting an hour or more off the time you wait in line worth it?
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Except when I fly, it's usually for a vacation and also includes the family, so it would be a few times that amount.

Been mainly sticking to driving vacations the last several years, so I don't have to deal with the TSA, crowded airports, baggage fees or the cramped airline seats. A few years ago we decided to spend the vacation money on Disney passes, since it's an easy 30 minute drive. Went until we where sick of going :p
 
First thought when readin the title was..... so they got rid of everyone?
 
Just get rid of the TSA not like catch all that much. Flew back from Vegas, kid next to me had a tazer...walk right through security with it..
 
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Tawnos said:
The rest of your post is spot on, but this... how much would you pay to, essentially, skip the line? Because precheck is $85/5 years, or $17/year. Even if you're only flying once a year, isn't the $17 worth cutting an hour or more off the time you wait in line worth it?
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$17/year is fine, but $85 upfront is too much. I don't understand why they're charging for this at all. It should reduce their costs to have more people prescreened, and it's like free intelligence gathering.

If the TSA isn't just "security theater," then they're a complete failure when they have these huge lines of people standing around because it just moves the attack vector from the planes to the lines at the checkpoints.
 
All this police state crap and we're barely any safer than we were before. Is it worth it? Not to me. Thank God I don't have to fly anywhere, but these sorts of stories still depress me.
 
Tawnos said:
The rest of your post is spot on, but this... how much would you pay to, essentially, skip the line? Because precheck is $85/5 years, or $17/year. Even if you're only flying once a year, isn't the $17 worth cutting an hour or more off the time you wait in line worth it?
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It's funny, the waiting list at San Francisco for pre-check interrogations/interviews is over 6 months. It's worth every penny, but i'm not sure how it was supposed to fix the problems this year if it takes that long.

The automated systems do look like the ones at heathrow, and eurostar train terminals. At least they don't have to design these from scratch.
 
This is one thing I won't miss when I move to New Zealand at the end of the year. Last few times I went over there, they had dogs sniff people coming in and out and their lines moved way faster. The majority of the people flying there were foreign as well, but they didn't have these huge lines, not even close.


TSA is a joke and every investigation into how secure they are has shown it makes no difference. It's a false security and it sad to see citizens put up with it or just accept it.
 
I went through the pre-screen line thinger in February. I went through the entire line including detectors with my keys in my pocket and it didn't set anything off. My wife's Ugg boots set it off because one had too much road salt absorbed into it so it showed up as a density. Strange place.
 
hotrodsun said:
Just get rid of the TSA not like catch all that much. Flew back from Vegas, kid next to me had a tazer...walk right through security with it..
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This...Because no one has ever hijacked a plane with nail clippers or a bottle of water. fucking useless inconvenience.
 
SCSI-Terminator said:
Last couple of times I've flown, it wasn't people loading the bins causing the bottleneck, but the TSA agent running the X-ray machine spending way to long examining each item.
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Probably taking even more time "examining" someone with some generous "goods". :D
 
haste. said:
I actually do pay for first class often in busy airports - going to GnR over the 4th in Chicago and it was $70/ticket more for first and sky priority takes about 5 minutes vs 3 hours at Ohare.
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That's business class, not first class ;)
 
So all they really did was add some dividers and make the counter a bit longer?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Every airport I have ever been to there has always been 3-4 people putting stuff into bins at the same time anyway.

From the time I start emptying stuff into the bins to getting it out of the bins after the x-ray machine, it is usually about 2 minutes.

I really can't see this speeding anything up for most people.
 
Either way, the TSA will find some way to mess it up, and slow it down, by adding another rule like all electronics go in a bin by themselves, and then shoes go in a bin by themselves, etc....you know why? Because they can, and they have to give the illusion that the TSA has control, when it really doesn't.

It's just BS pacification....... while a terrorist finds another way to sneak something on a plane. OR WORSE forget about worrying about the planes altogether, and just bomb the airport itself, like in BRUSSELS.

There ya go, problem solved, and totally sidestep the TSA. They will just bomb the airport itself.
 
Exavior said:
Of course you don't get to sit in first class, but for the average person spending $85 for 5 years of avoiding normal lines vs $70 per flight is a better choice. It isn't that hard to get the precheck, just give the TSA your SSN and they do a background check on you. Think it takes 3 weeks to get approved.
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You are extremely lucky! Pre-check is actually faster than Sky Priority and accepted at all airports unlike SP. I don't fly enough, ~10 times a year, to go through the process or I'm just lazy!
 
haste. said:
You are extremely lucky! Pre-check is actually faster than Sky Priority and accepted at all airports unlike SP. I don't fly enough, ~10 times a year, to go through the process or I'm just lazy!
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$85 for 5 years... I only fly about 12-14 times a year but it'd paid for itself the first time I would have missed my flight. It's super easy to get too.
 
Krazy925 said:
$85 for 5 years... I only fly about 12-14 times a year but it'd paid for itself the first time I would have missed my flight. It's super easy to get too.
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Alright c'mon, I'm just lazy - quit piling on!

In all honesty, I probably should do it. My mother has had it for many years; it was a couple hours at the airport and the nominal fee. I've gotten randomly selected for pre-check a few times and it is nice to not be half raped as you go through security.
 
Saw this at first glance;

'Dota Helps TSA Fix Security Checkpoints'

Sadly, it would.
 
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