Are the Lines at LAX Really Gone?

Security lines that stretch outside terminals to the sidewalk at Los Angeles International Airport have been a common sight since 9/11.

But this month the Transportation Security Administration’s federal security director at LAX declared those lines gone “forever.” It was a bold statement and one that has business travelers eager for results.

Lines at airports are not only a nuisance but a productivity-draining reality for business travelers.

“Time is money,” said Bill Connors, executive director of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Business Travel Assn. “Every minute you’re standing there doing nothing, waiting to get through a security line, is lost productivity.”

The association is a proponent of the Registered Traveler program. It is an initiative of the TSA to create expedited security lines for travelers who undergo background checks and submit fingerprints and other personal data.

So far, the program has been implemented only at Orlando International Airport in Florida. The TSA hopes to have 10 to 20 airports utilizing the Registered Traveler program by the end of the year.

Connors was enrolled in a trial Registered Traveler program in Washington, D.C. Just knowing that he had a predictable experience awaiting him at airport security allowed him to squeeze in another 45 minutes of work at the office before heading to the airport.

Registered Traveler has seen increased opposition from the Air Transport Assn., the airline industry lobby, which this month sent a letter to airport executive directors urging them to oppose it.

“The program will unnecessarily drain limited TSA resources and detract from the agency’s ability to craft more comprehensive programs benefiting all travelers,” President and Chief Executive James C. May said in the letter.

Business travelers don’t enjoy the flexibility of leisure travelers, who can chose to travel at off-peak periods if they want to avoid lines.

Connors believes that airport security hassles are a prime reason that the corporate jet market is among the fastest-growing segments of the business travel industry. Corporate jets attract the airline’s best customers: business travelers who pay top dollar for first-class seats or last-minute tickets, he noted.

“So many people are fed up with those lines they are going that direction rather than commercial airlines,” Connors said. “If I were an airline, I’d take a look at that trend.”

For a skeptic like me, TSA’s statement about lines at LAX seemed improbable. So a week ago on a Friday afternoon, typically one of the busiest travel days at LAX, I drove to the airport to see for myself.

Maybe the lines would be gone some of the time, maybe even most of the time, but certainly on an early summer get-away Friday, I was certain I’d find at least one TSA line out to the sidewalk.

I arrived at LAX at 3 p.m. and took a leisurely drive around the upper departure level. No long lines visible at any terminal. OK, so it’s early.

I parked at Terminal 1, perhaps the most notorious for long lines, and went for a stroll. Historically, wait times at the terminal are as long as 29 minutes Friday afternoons, according to the TSA.

I sat near the entry to security. Traffic through the boarding pass and ID checkpoint was eerily smooth. No more than five to 10 folks waiting in line at any given time.

I also couldn’t see any lines at the TSA security screening on the next level. I tried to engage some travelers in a conversation about the lack of lines, but they were too hurried to talk.

At LAX, passengers in the last few years could typically expect Friday afternoon waits of 20 minutes or more at five terminals, less at the others.

Compare that with maximum wait times at other airports on a Friday afternoon: seven minutes at Burbank, eight minutes at Long Beach, 12 minutes at San Francisco International, 22 minutes at Chicago’s O’Hare.

At 3:25 p.m. I walked to Terminal 2. There, a line of some 40 people stretched out the door. I peeked in to see what was causing it -- document checks at Virgin Atlantic. No backup in the line at the TSA security checkpoint.

It is a lot easier to chat with folks waiting in a line. Lee Cheeseman was returning to Kent, England, after a week of business meetings in Pasadena. He had traveled through LAX on business 15 to 20 times in the last few years. His last trip through security at LAX about a month ago took only 10 minutes, whereas it had commonly taken 40.

At 4:23 p.m. I went back to Terminal 1. Grant Cox of San Francisco was in the Southwest terminal, buying a ticket home. He comes to Los Angeles once a month on business and is accustomed to standing in the lines on the sidewalk there.

“I was surprised when I drove up today and there was no line,” Cox said. “For a Friday afternoon at a quarter to 5, that’s bizarre.”

Bizarre indeed. By 5:30 p.m. after one last quick loop around the airport and no TSA lines in sight, I called it a day.

Clearly, the TSA was off to a good start on a busy summer afternoon.

But lines are not gone forever -- even with the TSA on its new-found best behavior. After the TSA security chief’s remarks last week, The Times returned to the airport five times and found one occasion where a TSA line was backed up: Monday morning at Terminal 4, where an X-ray machine was offline.

Travelers should always expect to wait in line at check-in counters, curbside baggage check and even security checkpoints. But the chronic problem of TSA lines snaking out onto the sidewalk may someday soon be a thing of the past.

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You can reach James Gilden at james.gilden@latimes.com.