Pre-TSA, when airports ran their own security checkpoints, it was not unusual to have a separate line for first class and high-level frequent flyer members. So that aspect of it has always been around. We just made it a governmentally-enforced one.
Plus, a lot of Precheck people have it via Global Entry, which really is paying to skip the line. Since I got GE, I have never once spent as much time at immigration coming back to the US as it took me to walk from the gate to the immigration hall. Longest line ever was maybe five minutes, because an entire jumbo jet's flight crew was in front of me. I've bypassed hours-long lines.
Some airports still have separate lines (including to customs and immigration) for some frequent flyer status holders. Some are plainly visible, like in IST, some are better hidden with a separate entry into the airport itself.
At the highest end of flyer status, some airlines will escort you out of the jetway via the access door just as you step off the plane (before you even enter the terminal) and drive you directly to your next flight, where you climb the stairs, enter via the jetway access door, and walk onto the plane. That’s for very important customers with tight connections.
It has nothing to do with important or connections, just the passenger's wallet size. It is a service like any other, and last I inquired it was $400 per person for each end of the flight.
Comments
Pre-TSA, when airports ran their own security checkpoints, it was not unusual to have a separate line for first class and high-level frequent flyer members. So that aspect of it has always been around. We just made it a governmentally-enforced one.
Plus, a lot of Precheck people have it via Global Entry, which really is paying to skip the line. Since I got GE, I have never once spent as much time at immigration coming back to the US as it took me to walk from the gate to the immigration hall. Longest line ever was maybe five minutes, because an entire jumbo jet's flight crew was in front of me. I've bypassed hours-long lines.
Some airports still have separate lines (including to customs and immigration) for some frequent flyer status holders. Some are plainly visible, like in IST, some are better hidden with a separate entry into the airport itself.
At the highest end of flyer status, some airlines will escort you out of the jetway via the access door just as you step off the plane (before you even enter the terminal) and drive you directly to your next flight, where you climb the stairs, enter via the jetway access door, and walk onto the plane. That’s for very important customers with tight connections.
It has nothing to do with important or connections, just the passenger's wallet size. It is a service like any other, and last I inquired it was $400 per person for each end of the flight.