Airlines vie for elite fliers with faster treatment

By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff, 01/20/02

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Airlines already give their best customers their own check-in counters, special lounges, wider seats, and hot-baked cookies. Now they are starting to give them their own no-wait line at security checkpoints.

Concerned that long delays may deter frequent fliers from taking to the air, American, Delta, Northwest, and United are testing security screening policies that in effect let their best customers go to the head of the line.

So far, Delta is the only airline trying the approach at Boston's Logan Airport. Its platinum and gold medallion frequent fliers as well as its first-class and business-elite passengers are invited to use a "security priority lane" when delays occur. Delta's Web site says one-hour delays are common at peak periods.

The special lanes - being tried at such airports as Chicago's O'Hare, San Diego, San Francisco, Detroit, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Minneapolis-St. Paul - are a logical extension of the airlines' eagerness to cater to those travelers who pay more for tickets or account for most of their business.

But what will happen when the federal government takes over security at the nation's airports next month? It's one thing to offer special privileges to elite customers when you're footing the security bill, as the airlines are now. It's quite a different matter to treat first-class passengers and frequent fliers better when all travelers, including those in coach, are paying special ticket fees to finance the government's security operation.

Hank Price, a spokesman for the US Transportation Department, said the government has other more pressing priorities right now and that decisions about security priority lanes will have to wait until later.

Peggy Estes, a spokeswoman for Delta, said the future of the special security lanes may be uncertain but their popularity is not. "We've gotten very, very positive feedback from our customers," she said.

David Olney of Lincoln, a Delta gold medallion flier interviewed at Logan as he headed for a plane to Naples, Fla., said the special security lane would probably make him consider flying out of Logan more rather than heading for less-congested T. F. Green in Warwick, R.I.

Olney said he didn't think the special lanes represented discrimination against coach passengers. "What's the difference between letting them [elite passengers] go through security faster or sitting in first class if seats are available?" he said.

Not every airline is testing special security lanes. David Castleveter, a spokesman for USAirways, said the airline had no plans to implement them. Instead, he said, the airline has added security checkpoints to speed up traffic for all passengers. Continental has taken a similar approach.

Of the half-dozen passengers I interviewed, none was familiar with the priority lane. But after having the concept explained to the passengers, even those riding in coach didn't begrudge the lane for their elite traveling companions.

Sue Booth-Forbes, who was flying to Ireland in coach, said she was less concerned about giving frequent fliers their own lane than she was about making sure everyone was screened thoroughly.

Tom Heberlein, flying coach to Birmingham, Ala., was the most skeptical, but even he gave the special lanes his qualified support. He said airlines have to cater to their frequent fliers, who represent the bulk of their business.

"The special lanes just entitle you to board faster, which has always been the policy of the airlines for their best customers," Heberlein said. "I don't think it's a bad idea."

All sales final

John Fitch of Durham, N.H., is understandably bitter, but trying to save money on travel comes with a certain amount of risk.

Back in the fall, Fitch and his wife decided to take their four children to Disney World in Florida. A frequent flier, he used miles with United Airlines to book their flight, and his wife rented a car from Alamo through the name-your-price Web site Priceline.com.

As the family awaited the trip, trouble struck. Fitch was laid off Nov. 15. Given the circumstances, he decided to postpone the trip. United canceled the ticket and returned his miles, but Priceline refused to return its fees. "I find it frustrating that Priceline absolutely refuses to acknowledge that I have been laid off and the money being spent on the car rental would be put to a better use feeding my four children," Fitch said.

Brian Ek, a spokesman for Priceline, was sympathetic to Fitch's situation but pointed out that the all-sales-final disclosures are prominently displayed on the company's Web site, and that the policy is integral to the company's pricing approach.

"That is the only way we can get suppliers to sell at the prices they do," Ek said.

Bruce Mohl can be reached by e-mail at mohl@globe.com.