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May 30, 2008,
Black/Blue/Green, First Class, Premier, Red Carpet-it seems like there
are 18 different types of lines leading to a TSA checkpoint and only one
for the "regular" traveler. What's the deal? Well, there's the history
and then there's where we're going.
Historically, TSA hasn't taken ownership over the security queue. This
dates back to pre-9/11 and pre-TSA when airlines contracted with
security companies to man checkpoints. Instead of taking control of the
queues after 9/11 when we were established, we have relied upon the
airport operator and the airlines to manage the queue for us so we could
concentrate directly on screening passengers. This originally included
checking passenger identification and boarding passes to ensure that
only ticketed passengers were entering the queue and going through
security. In general, TSA took the view that once you got to security,
we treated everyone the same. Passengers may have progressed through the
queue at a different speed, but they fed into the same security lines in
the checkpoint itself.
In terms of real estate, the queue is not generally considered to be a
part of the checkpoint. It's a part of the airport lobby where the line
for people to enter into the checkpoint is setup. The actual screening
takes place in the actual checkpoint. As a result, since it belonged to
the airport, the airport operator and airline tenant were allowed to do
what they wanted with it so long as everyone went through the checkpoint
before they boarded their flight. Enter premium passenger lanes-without
revenue coming to TSA. It was airport space, and we let the airport
manage it. |
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The first thing that
our research on Checkpoint Evolution told us is that in terms of the
passenger experience, the queue belongs to TSA-not entirely new to us,
but something of which we should take more notice. We've tracked queue
wait times for a long time; however, that data is used to make sure our
airports are properly resourced, and our research has told us that the
queue experience also has a critical element of which we needed to take
notice. For example, inexperienced travelers and families feel like they
need more time to prepare for screening, want more help with the
process, and do not like being in the queue in front of a Road-Warrior
traveler, tapping their foot, who doesn't really care about the queue
experience as long as it moves quickly. (Road-Warriors can be irritated
with the families and the slower travelers, but it's their lack of speed
and not the fact they're a family that bothers them.)
So, we started looking for ways to put our research to good use with two
goals in mind. First, we wanted to build a new environment that would
make our behavioral observation programs more effective by helping to
reduce the overall stress in the queue and the checkpoint. Second, we
wanted to find a way to increase our efficiency and reduce x-ray alarm
rates by allowing the fast passengers to move fast, and the slow
passengers to take their time. End result - the "Black Diamond" pilot in
Salt Lake City that joined the queue to the checkpoint and allowed
passengers to pick a security line designed to meet their needs and let
them move at their own pace (keeping Road-Warriors and the Families
separate for the whole screening experience). For those new to the blog,
"Black Diamond" was named after the ski logos that help snow skiers
choose ski trails based on their level of difficulty.
The results were tremendously positive-especially with passengers who
wanted an experience where they could take their time going through
security. The queue and the security experience were much calmer for
passengers, and our initial results show that the new multi-queue "Black
Diamond" checkpoints are more efficient than regular checkpoints. We're
now 20 airports later, and we're still seeing the same results. As a
matter of fact, peak wait times at Salt Lake City this past Memorial Day
weekend were about half as along as they were last year, even though the
number of passengers going through the checkpoint actually went up by
about 5 percent.
It's important to note that even under this new system, the queue still
sits on airport real estate, so "Black Diamond" is only coming to a
willing airport near you. TSA can't force an airport into a particular
queue design-although more than a few airports are interested in the
project. Security is a partnership between TSA, airport operators,
airlines, and passengers, and TSA is looking to work with all comers.
We're thankful for those airport operators who have been willing to
experiment with us to build a better queue management mousetrap, but we
also understand that airports have other needs, and even this project
might not work everywhere.
Diamond lanes, family lanes, Elite lanes, whatever lanes, they all add
up to a better experience for passengers and a safer environment for
everyone. |
