February 21, 2002
In one of its first acts since its takeover of airport passenger/baggage screening, the Transportation Security Administration has ordered airlines to close their "VIP lines," created by the airlines in the wake of September 11 to reduce screening time for their preferred (generally business travel) customers. And how would this make air travel even one smidgen safer? Well, according to the Reuters report (via Drudge), that’s not really the point:
Look, I understand how annoying it is to see some overpampered executive receive special privilege, but I realize that if somebody’s willing to spend an extra grand for a shorter screening line, bigger seat, and tastier meal it helps subsidize my rock-bottom fare. I’m not sure if the airlines release such specific information, but I’d surprised if the number of passengers on short-run flights like New York to DC or Boston has fallen by anything less than one-third, since it’s become easier and faster to simply drive the four hours rather than deal with the airports. As far as I can tell, the only result of the TSA action will be that now everybody will be equally miserable, paying higher fares, and no more safe than before.
Update: InstaPundit's take on the VIP line ban? It's a government conspiracy!
WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) — The U.S. government has told commercial airlines to close the VIP lines that allow their most valued customers, mainly business travelers, to avoid long waits for security checks at airports, officials said on Wednesday.I find this pretty disturbing. I’m not a first-class traveler nor is it likely that I’ll soon become one, but this is a situation where the scarred and struggling (admittedly, mostly due to their own actions) airline industry found that they were losing some of their most-valuable customers — the top-dollar paying business class — and made some concessions in order to regain that business. Now, for reasons seemingly having absolutely nothing to do with security, a government office has decided to force their sense of equality onto the airline industry.
The elimination of the perk was ordered by the Transportation Security Administration, which took over airport passenger and baggage screening from the airlines at more than 420 airports this week.
Transportation officials said the decision to do away with VIP lines reflected a move to make the overhaul of airport security equitable since it is now a federal function.
Look, I understand how annoying it is to see some overpampered executive receive special privilege, but I realize that if somebody’s willing to spend an extra grand for a shorter screening line, bigger seat, and tastier meal it helps subsidize my rock-bottom fare. I’m not sure if the airlines release such specific information, but I’d surprised if the number of passengers on short-run flights like New York to DC or Boston has fallen by anything less than one-third, since it’s become easier and faster to simply drive the four hours rather than deal with the airports. As far as I can tell, the only result of the TSA action will be that now everybody will be equally miserable, paying higher fares, and no more safe than before.
Update: InstaPundit's take on the VIP line ban? It's a government conspiracy!
Sure, it's fun to abuse [Norman Mineta] over this. But the real point is that this decision is more evidence in support of the InstaPundit Airline Security Conspiracy Theory™: The reason Bush gave in on federalizing airport security was because he knew that the inevitably lazy, inefficient, and rude security screeners would become the face of the federal government to the chattering classes, undermining big-government sentiment more effectively than a brace of Cato Institutes.Well, I feel much better now.
Since the chattering classes are disproportionately frequent-flyer types, making the process less painful for them would undermine the plan.
Sure, Mineta's stupid -- stupid like a fox. Remember, you heard it here first.
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