Main Vegas carrier still dealing with long lines

Monday, Jan. 14, 2002 | 11:03 a.m.

New security procedures at McCarran International and other airports served by Southwest Airlines have created some unexpected problems in boarding procedures for the Dallas-based discount carrier.

When the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a new layer of random baggage searches in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it created more headaches for Southwest than other airlines. That's because Southwest doesn't assign seats on planes and allows passengers to board flights on a first-come, first-served basis.

Southwest's procedure is to distribute plastic boarding cards to customers in the order in which they arrive at the gate, and then board the plane in waves of 30 passengers at a time. Some Southwest passengers make a point of getting to the gate as early as possible to get the first choice of seats on the plane.

But since the FAA initiated random checks of carry-on baggage at the gate, some passengers have been pulled out of line and lost their place while they open their bags for inspection.

A spokeswoman for Southwest -- the largest air carrier serving McCarran with 172 daily flights -- said while some passengers have been bumped from the first wave of boarding passengers, most welcome the added security of the random checks.

"What we've tried to do is begin the security screening as early as possible during the boarding process and pause a little longer between boarding groups," said Whitney Brewer, a spokeswoman for Southwest in Dallas.

She explained personnel try to conduct all security screening within the time each group boards the plane, but sometimes delays occur and the next group is called before the screening is completed.

Brewer said on a few occasions, passengers have been unhappy with their placement on the plane, especially on flights that are full, but most welcome the added security.

Brewer said while Southwest "has been more creative in attacking these problems," the personnel who search bags -- at the gate, at the security check point and luggage at the ticket counter -- aren't Southwest employees. In Las Vegas, Southwest contracts with Argenbright Security, which has dedicated 50 employees exclusively to the airline's screening needs.

New security procedures are at least partially to blame for the long lines Southwest customers experienced during recent holiday travel periods, Brewer said, but a combination of factors contributed to some of the long waits experienced last month.

She said travel around the December holidays is traditionally heavy and Southwest, which has experienced a better return of its customers than most carriers following the post-Sept. 11 downturn, had better-than-average loads.

Southwest boards more passengers in Las Vegas -- 10 million in the first 11 months of 2001 -- than at any other of the 59 airports it serves. December loads have not been released by the airline or McCarran.

In addition, the heavy traffic for pre-Christmas travel was compacted into fewer days than in past years. Because Christmas fell on a Tuesday, many travelers packed the nation's airports Friday, Saturday and Sunday to get to their destinations by Christmas Eve. Many of those travelers had yet to experience the heightened security at airports since the attacks.

"Many were people who only fly once a year and hadn't seen the long lines that resulted from the increased security, and that contributed to the longer waits," Brewer said.

She also noted holiday travelers traditionally stay longer at their destinations, meaning more luggage was checked, resulting in longer lines at the ticket counter. Many brought gifts in their suitcases.

The company tried to head off potential problems with a campaign to encourage holiday travelers not to put wrapped presents in their suitcases or carry-on luggage. Travelers were warned they could be forced to open their presents at security check points if they were wrapped.

Southwest designed an Internet page to specifically address new security measures and explain procedures for travelers who hadn't flown for awhile.

While few people were forced to open their gifts, issues involving packages in suitcases may come under even greater scrutiny in the future. There's a Jan. 18 deadline to begin machine screening every piece of checked luggage that is put aboard a plane.

Most experts are skeptical next week's deadline will be met, particularly since about 2,000 more machines are needed to screen bags at the nation's airports. Critics like airline analyst Mike Boyd of the Evergreen, Colo.,-based Boyd Group say even if they could provide enough machines, the ones the FAA hopes to use are unreliable.

The law that mandates the bomb-sniffing machines also turns responsibility of airport security over to the new Transportation Security Administration by the end of February and sets new standards for airport security screeners.