Tired of Lines?
from May/June 2007
Frequent fliers fed up with queuing at airport security checkpoints in the U.S. may want to look into a new service from a New York City outfit called Verified Identity Pass (“VIP,” get it?), a brainchild of Court TV founder Steven Brill, who serves as CEO. After a rigorous prescreening process that includes submitting two forms of government-issued identification, allowing the company to take images of their irises and fingerprints, and undergoing a review by the federal Transportation Security Administration, passengers qualify to join a shorter security line at various airports: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, Orlando International, Indianapolis International, San Jose International in California, and John F. Kennedy International’s Terminal 7 (the British Airways terminal, which is also used by Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Icelandair, Qantas, Thai, and United). The company says it will be adding other airports. Membership in the program costs $99.95 a year, though that is likely to increase.Travelers can also cut the time it sometimes takes to check into a hotel by using one of three global chains—Hyatt, Radisson SAS, and Starwood’s Sheraton—that have begun to introduce electronic check-in, either via machines in the hotel lobby or online. Note that electronic check-in isn’t available at every hotel in each chain, and in some cases is offered only to guests who belong to a loyalty program.
