I definitely like the shorter line, but the reduced friction from not having to unpack your bags with laptops, take off your shoes, and walk-through scanner instead of pose-for-the-scan-then-wait scanner is worth it alone, even if you do have to wait in the same line.
It's surprising to me to see this opinion (echoed in scarby2's sibling comment), because outside of the laptop ritual, the other things register as approximately zero friction to me.
In some sense air travel is an exercise in friction and waiting. Standing in line definitely rubs me the wrong way, but others might weight their inconveniences very differently. Perhaps keeping your shoes on should be a separate upcharge from a shorter wait :P
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I definitely like the shorter line, but the reduced friction from not having to unpack your bags with laptops, take off your shoes, and walk-through scanner instead of pose-for-the-scan-then-wait scanner is worth it alone, even if you do have to wait in the same line.
It's surprising to me to see this opinion (echoed in scarby2's sibling comment), because outside of the laptop ritual, the other things register as approximately zero friction to me.
In some sense air travel is an exercise in friction and waiting. Standing in line definitely rubs me the wrong way, but others might weight their inconveniences very differently. Perhaps keeping your shoes on should be a separate upcharge from a shorter wait :P