Long Lines in Atlanta
Monday, May 19th, 2008Last week I traveled first class from Atlanta to Philadelphia. I was shocked at the long and totally disorganized system at Hartsfield Atlanta and the first class line merged with the economy so the extra cost of a first class ticket was pointless.
As we progressed to where our tickets and ID were checked - about a 10 minute wait - the line would be held and a massive amount of people coming from the left would enter the main line. It was like a NYC street intersection where TSA agents became traffic cops rather than checking for would-be “evil doers”.
I travel a lot and I find long lines at O’Hare, but they move swiftly and orderly. My entire time in line at Atlanta was 20 minutes and I know some of you will have horror stories about longer lines, but I do not find this at O’Hare, Philadelphia, Newark, LAX, Miami and SFO - so this must be poor organization by ATL and TSA.
With the current state of the airlines and fuel prices, there is no question that a first class passenger should receive privilege. Economy class passengers simply do not pay their freight and furthermore they seem to feel entitled to receiving the best service for the lowest costs.
Atlanta needs to meet with the TSA and solve this issue.
-Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO
