TSA, Delta try ‘innovation lanes’
The new system in Atlanta aims to speed up security screening.
The future of airport screening may be on display at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The new “innovation lanes” are an idea paid for by Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines to move the screening lines along faster.
Gil West, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Delta, called the lanes “a game changer.”
Delta, which paid $1 million for the two lanes, estimates that each lane can move 30% more passengers than any standard line operated by the Transportation Security Administration.
The advantage of the “innovation lanes” is that they incorporate parallel conveyor systems, one that sends empty plastic bins to waiting passengers and a second that moves those bins, loaded with passenger’s shoes, belts, carry-on bags and other items toward the X-ray machines.
The system allows up to five passenger per lane to fill bins with their shoes, belts and other items at the same time. Unlike traditional TSA lanes, the line and the bins keeps moving even when one passenger is moving slowly or needs to be pulled out for extra screening.
Delta said it created the lanes in nine weeks and launched them last month.
Delta has no immediate plans to replicate the lanes at other airports yet but TSA chief Peter Neffenger said the lanes “show dramatic improvements” in moving passengers.
American to change frequent f lier deal The nation’s largest airline is changing its frequent flier program to make it harder for economy fliers to earn free flights.
American Airlines said that starting Aug. 1, its AAdvantage program will be converted to rewarding miles based on dollars spent on airfare, instead of miles flown. That means that a traveler flying first class will usually earn more reward miles for the same flight than a flier in coach.
Delta, United and Southwest have all switched to similar dollar-based systems. The only major U.S. carrier that still awards miles based on miles f lown is Seattle-based Alaska Airlines.
Starting Aug. 1, base AAdvantage members will earn five award miles for every dollar spent while Gold members will get seven miles, Platinum members will get eight and Executive Platinum members will earn 11 miles.
The changes sound simple enough but the program is going to get a bit more complicated. Starting next year, American will add a fifth elite status, dubbed Platinum Pro, which will fall between the Platinum and Executive Platinum levels.
The program will also make it more difficult to achieve those elite levels.
Starting Jan. 1, 2017, AAdvantage members who want to qualify for elite status will need to meet a minimum level of miles f lown or f light segments completed plus spend a minimum amount of money. For example, to achieve Gold status, a person needs to fly 25,000 miles or complete 30 flight segments plus spend at least $3,000 on airfare.
“If a person goes on $800 flights to Europe a few times a year, it’s going to be a lot harder to get elite status,” said Brian Karimzad, an loyalty reward analyst and director at MileCards.com.
Delta to hand out free entertainment Delta Air Lines wants to distinguish itself from the other major U.S. carriers, and what better way than to give out freebies?
Starting July 1, passengers on nearly every Delta flight can watch and listen to movies, television shows and music through their own digital device or seat-back entertainment system for free. That includes fliers in coach seats.
Delta passengers in coach now must pay $6 for recently released movies and $1 for premium TV channels such as HBO. That is similar to the entertainment options on Virgin America’s “Red” system.
But starting next month, Delta’s entertainment system, Delta Studio, will offer complimentary access to up to 300 movies, 750 TV shows, 100 foreign films, 2,400 songs and 18 channels of live satellite TV — not just for firstclass or business-class fliers but for passengers in coach seats.
The entertainment system is offered in nearly 90% of Delta’s fleet.
With a dramatic slide in fuel costs over the last two years, most airlines are enjoying record profits. That has freed up money for carriers to try to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Delta spokeswoman Liz Savadelis said the move to offer free entertainment was intended to “invest in the customer experience” and make Delta distinct from its rivals.
There is still a charge — starting at about $5 — to access Wi-Fi for passengers who want to get their onboard entertainment outside of Delta Studio.