As Joe mentioned the other day, we did a rather unusual (for us) vacation the other week. We flew to ATL to meet our friends Samantha and Norman, who live in the area. From there the 4 of us drove to Pigeon Forge, TN and spent nearly a week enjoying Dollywood and a bunch of other touristy goodness that Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg have to offer. At the end of the trip, we drove back to Atlanta, and Normy and Sam dropped us off at ATL so we could catch our flight back home to Orlando.
Joe and I have flown THROUGH Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) on several occasions. But this was only Joe’s second time flying FROM it (and it was…an experience), and my first time ever.
We had heard from our friends, as well as read all over the ‘net that ATL is historically a cluster. In fact, we convinced Normy and Sam, who don’t fly super duper often (maybe 1-3 times a year) to get TSA PreCheck, to help them save time at the TSA security checkpoint. We had also heard that CLEAR tended to have much longer lines than the PreCheck queues at ATL. Said Joe:
This shouldn’t be a shocker at Atlanta airport, which is the center of the Delta Airlines universe. Delta provides free CLEAR membership to Diamond Medallion members and discounts for all other SkyMiles members. The most any Delta member has to pay for a yearly membership is $119. If you only fly a few times a year (or have a card that pays for CLEAR membership), signing up for the program is a no-brainer.
Welp, we had 2 hours until our flight and when we got to the checkpoint, we had a choice to make – PreCheck Line or CLEAR line?
So I said,
“I’ll race ya!”
To clarify, Joe and I have the exact same status – we both have PreCheck and we both have CLEAR. So I went on the PreCheck line, while he went on the CLEAR-with-PreCheck queue. We’d walk at our typical speed until there were people in front of us. And we’d see who won.
With a quick, “See ya on the other side!” we were both on our way at 1:47pm.
Sharon (regular PreCheck line): Off the line, got my stuff at 1:56pm.
Joe (CLEAR with PreCheck line): Off the line, got his stuff at 1:58pm.
I WON!
Now, Joe says we’re actually even because, ya see, we had stopped at a roadside place to buy some GA peaches, and he was holding them in his carry on. The TSA officer pulled him aside so they could check the bag, but when the officer came to go through the bag, she decided to wave him through. *I* don’t think that took 2 whole minutes. So I stand by what I say – I WON!
Of course, this doesn’t tell us much; it was an oddball time (mid-afternoon on a Thursday), not a particularly busy time of day, and not during a holiday or anything. But still, it does show that despite all the warnings of how horrible ATL can be, there are times when it can be absolutely doable.
Oh, and so much for the TSA saying that 90-something percent of people with TSA PreCheck are only on line for 5 minutes or less. Not at ATL, they’re not! 😉
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