--- begin forwarded text
Delivered-To: rah@shipwright.com
Delivered-To: clips@philodox.com
Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 14:26:35 -0400
To: Philodox Clips List
From: "R.A. Hettinga"
Subject: [Clips] A Longer Wait For Faster Lines
Reply-To: rah@philodox.com
Sender: clips-bounces@philodox.com
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB115048587097082633.html
The Wall Street Journal
June 17, 2006
THE WEEK AHEAD
Air Security
A Longer Wait
For Faster Lines
By LAURA MECKLER
June 17, 2006; Page A2
The idea was simple. But putting it into practice has been tough.
On Tuesday, the original target date will come -- and pass -- for the
national launch of the "Registered Traveler" program, which is meant to
create special, speedier airport-security lines for people willing to pay
an annual fee and undergo background checks.
Yet so far, the program is operational at just one airport -- Orlando
International in Florida -- where it was pilot-tested. In April, the
federal Transportation Security Administration said that the deadline would
slip and that it hoped to roll the program out at 10 to 20 airports in the
second half of the year.
If looking for a terrorist in an airport of innocents is like hunting a
needle in a haystack, Registered Traveler is intended to make the stack
smaller. Prescreened travelers would be diverted to a speedy line, where
they would show an identification card with biometric data embedded to
prove they are who they say they are.
Business travelers love the idea, as do many members of Congress. A handful
of companies have expressed interest in contracts to run the special lines,
seeing an opportunity to market tie-ins to credit cards, hotel chains,
travel Web sites and other airport concessionaires. Some have talked of
setting up special lounges for members.
Yet now, like so many TSA programs, this one is behind schedule. The TSA
has yet to announce any additional airports and hasn't published the
information about privacy protections required before people can sign up.
Most crucially, it hasn't approved new technology to make the program work.
Companies interested in the program worry that fewer people are likely to
sign up if all they get is their own line at airport security. They think
the program has to offer something else, like not forcing passengers to
take off their shoes and jackets and remove laptops from their cases. The
TSA has said it will lift those rules only if lines are equipped with
technology aimed at improving screening, such as a new machine that can
scan shoes while they are still on a passenger's feet and analyze the touch
of a finger for explosive residue. But the TSA hasn't certified those
machines, so they can't be used in airports.
So, many travelers are stuck clamoring for the speedier lines, particularly
those who will be able to expense the fee to their employers. In Orlando,
where more than 25,000 people have signed up, the fee is $79.95 a year,
which covers all airports that add the lines. Among airports, which
sometimes share in the profits, some are enthusiastic about the program.
Though airlines, which don't want to make flying any more expensive than it
already is, are decidedly not.
Hawking the program aggressively is Steven Brill, onetime journalist and
founder of Court TV. Mr. Brill is founder and chief executive of Verified
Identity Pass Inc., an identity-card maker that is working to sign up
airports, and he still thinks the program could be up and running in more
airports this summer. "I'm always optimistic," he says.
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R. A. Hettinga
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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--- end forwarded text
--
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
