Southwest Airlines to speed elite fliers through security

“Maverick” Southwest Airlines is looking more like the suits these days,  pampering high-mileage, higher-paying fliers while sending bargain customers to the back of the line.  Talk about the haves and have-nots.

The latest perk is faster access to security checkpoints for people who pay Business Select fares or qualify for the Rapid Rewards A-List by logging at least 32 flights per year.

The “Fly By Security Lanes” service will land this month at Los Angeles International (LAX), Orange County’s John Wayne (SNA),  San Francisco (SFO), Dallas Love Field (DAL), Phoenix Sky Harbor ((PHX), Denver International (DIA) and Baltimore/Washington International (BWI).  No start date has been set for LAX or John Wayne, but it’s expected to be late October, said Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger.

At LAX, Fly By customers will be funneled to the TSA lane used by employees, Eichinger said, while at John Wayne, they will join other airlines’ priority fliers in an existing line.  She said no added TSA staff will be required.

Eichinger declined to say how many fliers belong to the Rapid Rewards A-List, a program begun in November 2007 that provides priority boarding to members. They get numbers 16 to 30, behind Business Select fliers, who get 1 to 15.  Last in line are regular customers, including families with children.

Remember when the only label Southwest gave you was A, B or C ?

Southwest is inviting comments on its Fly By program on its blog.

UPDATE: Southwest Airlines this afternoon said it will start serving Minneapolis in March, from Chicago’s Midway airport. No details as yet.

— Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor

[Image: Southwest.com]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 1:36 pm by Jane Engle and is filed under Airline travel, Business Travel, Frequent Flier, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.