I recently spoke at ZorkFest, the travel conference that focuses on casino loyalty programs as much as airline and hotel offerings, and it was in Lake Tahoe – the first time I’d flown into Reno in five years.
American Airlines has non-stop regional jet service on this 1,405 mile Austin – Reno trip. That’s a long way in an Embraer E-175, but not a trip that pushes the envelope of the plane’s capabilities. Normally I’d avoid such a long E-175 flight because American’s inflight wifi on these planes is old Gogo air to ground and it’s frequently non- or barely-functioning. On this flight it worked! And I wouldn’t have to connect.
Their ‘PM protein box’ is still sad. The failure to revert to proper meals on trays (albeit cold meals as the planes lack ovens) is a testament to a lack of commitment to detail and quality. This flight was the first time I’d seen an American Airlines snack basket in awhile – one hasn’t been offered on my recent 1,297 mile Austin – Washington Dulles flights.
The Reno airport is small, and a little sad. I’m surprised that (1) there weren’t more people gambling, and (2) there was a banner advertising the Austin – Reno flight. American is loathe to spend money on marketing! Did this flight get marketing money?
I wound up with a cheap Hertz EV rental for the drive to Tahoe. After lambasting Hertz a couple of months ago for their fees for not returning the rental car charged, I’d heard from several readers that they weren’t being charged so I tested it. I picked up the car, it had over 50,000 miles on it, and had a 98% charge (!). I returned it around half full and wasn’t charged.
Tahoe itself is quite beautiful. The event was at Harrah’s/Harvey’s, Caesars properties in Tahoe, and like Vegas you’ll wait quite awhile to check in if you do not have Caesars Diamond status.
It was great to see everyone at ZorkFest, from the folks I’d never met to readers who offered that they’d come because I’d shared the opportunity (or that they’d even come to see me!). A relatively intimate gathering, held in the suite that was apparently where Donald Trump first spent time with Stormy Daniels.
Gilbert Ott of God Save The Points
I recently asked, when the PreCheck line is longer than the regular security line, what do you do? and I faced this challenge leaving Reno on Sunday morning.
- The PreCheck line was backed up into the landside portion of the terminal, outside of the checkpoint area, while general security was long-ish.
- I scoped out the area and noticed a single line marked for Southwest’s elites and for ‘priority.’ I was in coach on American, but my boarding pass did have a Priority designation. And crucially there was not a single person in this line!
- So I walked straight to the front with no wait. I showed my ID and was directed to a screening lane and given a printed PreCheck voucher that flagged that I wouldn’t need to take anything out of my bag, take off my shoes, or go through full body imagine. I was in and out of the checkpoint in mere moments, with no delay.
I almost felt guilty! I skipped both the general and PreCheck queues, and no doubt many of the people in those lines would have been eligible for the Priority line. They just hadn’t noticed it.
TSA also wasn’t checking eligibility to use that line and there was no one at the entry to the line checking for it either (TSA screeners don’t care how you get to the front of the line, they do not manage the lines). Anyone could have skipped to the front without even appearing to do so.
Once inside I headed to the Escape lounge, which is now branded as a Centurion Studio lounge. Years ago it was largely empty though the same Amex Platinum cardholders could access it. With the proliferation of Platinum cards and the branding that makes clear who has access it was full, with a line to get in.
They were even assigning seats once you made it to the front of the line, and assigning strangers to sit together so that each chair was used. Food isn’t quite what it used to be either, but still better than what you’ll find at a Priority Pass club in most cases.
I’d changed my plans for leaving Reno a few days earlier and there were only middle seats available on American (which was hundreds less expensive than other flight options). I set an Expert Flyer alert and managed an aisle seat, though not Main Cabin Extra.
That advertising was paid for by the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority.
It seems to be increasingly rare to see a Priority line anymore, and outside of a few places it is rarely staffed (except Miami where the militant army of ladies in oversized sweater vests/blazers run a tight ship). But to be honest, maybe it’s just me, but I seldom even look for one anymore.
I would be a huge fan though if TSA split PreCheck up with the old ski lane signs like they did at checkpoints before PreCheck: at least split into the “I know what the hell I’m doing” and the “What’s this PreCheck? My cell phone is metal? What do you mean I can’t take my 2 liter of Mountain Dew?” as separate paths. The one and only good thing about the TSA smart lanes with the multiple tray stations is not having the whole thing bogged down by one person fishing for 100 pieces of metal in their clothing while probably most of us who read this blog are standing there with our phones and wallets already in our bags, waiting to drop a bag and keep moving.
I haven’t seen a priority line for years. TSA never enforced those lines, they were not allowed to, their jurisdiction was from the front of the line. In my experience when the airline bothered to guard the entry it was with a rent-a-cop and I would usually show them a Global Entry card, talk fast, and not stop long enough for them to say “no” to me.
Even knowing this tip, I’d still wait in the pre check line. Why? I’m at the airport early enough, a decision I make specifically because I know there will be lines. I don’t like to hand cards to TSA officers, I prefer to be in dedicated lanes where everybody has pre check.
I used the priority line at ATL on the not Delta side with a similar outcome. PreCheck was hundreds long and I was willing to lose my shoes to not stand in line, turns out I got the PreCheck paper and didn’t have to remove the shoes. San Antonio was a different experience. I got in PreCheck as line was single digits long and the group behind me tried to save a few seconds by using the empty Priority lane and got turned away by TSA, you are priority on the plane, not at TSA.
I am shocked, shocked that a government entity can’t run an efficient operation. TSA obviously needs to allocate more screening capacity to precheck, and less capacity to non precheck. Long standard lines encourages people to sign up for precheck, which makes screening more efficient. It should absolutely never be the case that precheck is slower.
And Clear doesn’t have much of a future. It’s not faster now with ID checks, now it’s just a way to pay to skip the line that nobody is willing to lay for unless it comes as a CC benefit. Biometrics will soon be standard in normal screening anyway.
PreCheck type screening at the airport checkpoints should be the default type of screening for the general passenger masses. Then let the airlines or other private sector players go back to having to pay up for having premium passenger lines at US airports if they even want them.
@GUWonder – yes interesting thought, though how do they get around the advance enrollment part that’s part of precheck
Just eliminate the enrollment and background check part. Relying upon the background checks used for PreCheck members to protect us from terrorism on flights in the US is little more than a feel-good and governmental CYA measure that grabs travelers’ money without any material diminishment in the risk of a flight being attacked by terrorists on board as passengers.
@GUWunder: I was confused when, at my PreCheck renewal, TSA wanted a bunch of biometrics. Maybe after 5 years of collecting they’ll use them?
But I think the goal of Pre-Check isn’t so much whether you have a criminal history or are trustworthy or not but just that they actually know who you are.
Christopher, yes, you are correct about that as that too is part of it.
I see the government’s passenger ID checks for domestic flights as not being worth even having. I have flown on a lot of international flights — albeit I am talking intra-Schengen cross-border flights in such cases — without being checked for ID. Those flights were safe enough to be generally non-memorable from a security perspective. And before 9/11, passenger ID was not commonly checked for domestic US flights unless having checked luggage. Those flights too were safe enough to be generally non-memorable.
You said ” I set an Expert Flyer alert and managed an aisle seat, though not Main Cabin Extra.”
What is an Expert Flyer Alert?
It was great to finally meet Gary in person and thanks for a super presentation/discussion.
You’ll note that Gary did not comment on the mediocre condition of Harveys rooms or common areas (Harrahs was no better either). I left an extensive review on yelp but suffice it to say I won’t be returning to Stateline anytime soon. Not a problem, as we generally stay in Incline Village on the north side of the lake which is much nicer (and I think just as close to RNO).
@Boraxo yes, the Harveys rooms were rough and they aren’t doing stayover housekeeping either. I would not stay there again.
If tips like these, to use a feature your not entitled to, become the norm here you’re going to lose readers. Man up and practice some ethics