[Clips] A Longer Wait For Faster Lines

R.A. Hettinga rah at shipwright.com
Sat Jun 17 11:27:41 PDT 2006


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  Delivered-To: rah at shipwright.com
  Delivered-To: clips at philodox.com
  Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 14:26:35 -0400
  To: Philodox Clips List <clips at philodox.com>
  From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
  Subject: [Clips] A Longer Wait For Faster Lines
  Reply-To: rah at philodox.com
  Sender: clips-bounces at 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.

  --
  -----------------
  R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
  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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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
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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