(I am reposting this from my Eclectic Global Nomad blog)
A couple of months ago I took a trip and found that my boarding pass said “TSA Pre-check”. I didn’t notice it until the official at security told me I could take the fast lane. It meant I didn’t have to take my shoes off or pull anything out of my bag and I could wear my jacket. I breezed through security. It made a difference. I had known about it for a while but people told me I had to apply for it and it took forever. For some reason they just gave it to me without asking. I didn’t question it but I did wonder why.
– See more at: http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/glamorous-world-air-travel/2014/06/01#sthash.sYFm8EHu.dpuf
That is the coolest certificate of awesomeness! Ahh….When we were kids….I remember flying alone on a short flight from Portland to Seattle. Delta stewardess was the next things closest to Miss America. She might even have been Miss America once. They sat me in first class because the plane was almost empty. I got to visit the cockpit, got my wings, coloring book, snack, all within a 25 minute flight. 25 minutes of being the center of the universe.
I have to say we have been pretty lucky with flying mit kind. Lufthansa and Delta seem to strive to make parent comfortable and to charm the girl. When the girl was 3, our Lufthansa stewardess played Peek-a-boo from her rear facing seat at take off and landing. And last year I watched a Delta steward calm a child with duck speak. I think the family was on the final leg of a many leg journey, and the steward took time out to help. The rest of the day whenever he passed on his duties he sent out a quack or two to the little boy.
Maybe we need to start a campaign, “bring the fun and wonder back for kids who fly.”
TSA assigns the pre-check based on certain metrics, even though it does just appear to be completely random. The airlines have no control over who gets it and who doesn’t, but registering with TSA does increase your likelihood of getting it every time.