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No Fly By lane in Austin

Tkwright79
Explorer C

Austin is my home airport and I’ve always worked to maintain A list status so I can use the fly by lanes at security.  Today, however, they didn’t have any fly by lanes for frequent traveler programs.  Only Clear and TSA Pre were available so I had to use the very long regular line and was within seconds of missing my flight.  The TSA agent I asked said they never have them in the mornings which is ABSOLUTELY not the case as I fly all the time in the mornings!!  Is this just another way for them to force us to buy clear or Precheck services?  Anyone else seeing this at other airports?  I’ve seen it at very small airports where it’s never busy enough to need separate lanes but at a major airport, it makes no sense.  I would hope the airlines complain about this on behalf of their frequent travelers.

3 REPLIES 3

Re: No Fly By lane in Austin

elijahbrantley
Aviator A
Solution

Truthfully, I have not noticed in years because I use (and prefer) PreCheck.  I do use Fly By for checking bags, and I have never noticed my home airport in Nashville NOT have the Fly By security line.

 

That said, the lack of that lane could have been decided upon by TSA or Southwest.  If TSA made that move, Southwest may not be aware, so I would reach out to SW via one of the contact methods at Contact Use below.  

 

-A List, Companion Pass holder

Re: No Fly By lane in Austin

bec102896
Aviator A

@Tkwright79 

 

Austin is my home airport as well. I haven't paid any attention to the flyby lane though because I have pre check and clear. I do know that the TSA decides when to open each given lane (flyby, pre check, checkpoint 1,2,3) depending on how busy it is.

 

Keep in mind in Austin there are 3 security check points so if one is really busy you can go to the others you may have to walk a little more but if it gets you though quicker then I'd go for the few extra steps. 

 

-Blake 

Re: No Fly By lane in Austin

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

A bit of a side note, but others already mentioned they use TSA PreCheck so I’ll just throw in my two cents and suggest it as well. I know it seems super annoying that you have to pay for it, but if you are flying enough to make A-List you really, really should give in and pay the $85 for 5 years of PreCheck. Yes, it’s all a joke and paying extra to be treated like a human is ridiculous, BUT the theater that is TSA screening is sooooo much more tolerable with PreCheck.  If you do any international travel paying the extra $15 ($100 total) for Global Entry is super wonderful, letting you breeze through Customs.  Just one trip in the 5 years justifies the additional cost.  I also opted to purchase Clear which is a bit of a stretch to justify, but I appreciate the individualized service their offer and they have been very helpful getting me PreCheck-lite service when PreCheck is closed.

 

And yes, TSA does control which airline priority lines are open so saying something to Southwest may get them to say something to TSA, but focus your annoyance at TSA, not Southwest.

 

--TheMiddleSeat