We’ve talked about airport security on this blog on other occasions, so when a barrage of airport and airline information flooded the Internet, we felt it important to bring it to our readers’ attention.  It would seem that the airline industry is doing pretty well despite the economic crisis.   We can only hope that the security systems employed at airports and by airlines are doing equally as well if not more so.

Verified Identity Pass, Vigilant Solutions and Flo Corp. we the three companies approved by the Transportation Security Administration to pre-screen frequent fliers using finger-prints, iris scans and background checks. The customers of all three companies paid up to 200 dollars for an ID card that would let them speed through security. However, not long ago all three were shut down or suspended, in some cases even before customers could use their new identification cards.

Verified Identity Pass dominated the field until June 2009, when it closed, its competition following its footsteps not long after. The initial fall was blamed on an inability to negotiate with creditors, but many feel it was the result of poor management.   Company clients are in an uproar at having to stand in line again, but those of us who worry about flight security are hard-pressed to feel sorry for them.  Paying a large sum of money does not guarantee security.

For 40 years, Delta Air Lines had special customer service agents nicknamed “red coats” in most major airports. However, in 2005, when Delta filed for bankruptcy protection, these agents were cut to save money. Now having recovered from their fear of bankruptcy, Delta is bringing back their “red coat” agents who will be able to answer any questions and even print boarding passes from hand-held devices. Their return was announced summer 2008, a year later Delta is employing a strong number of 600 “red coat” customer service agents in some of the larger airports in the United States.

Of the 100 busiest airports in the nation, Long Beach Airport had the lowest average domestic airfare for the first quarter of 2009, according to a report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Their average was only 207 dollars even when taxes were included while the highest average price went to Huntsville International Airport in Alabama at 505 dollars.

Long Beach also came fourth on the report for the biggest year-to-year average price decrease with a 16% drop.  Long Beach visitors weren’t only pleased with the price decrease, but also the fact that the airport’s security check flows smoothly and quickly.  Of course, this could have more to do with the fact that Long Beach is a small airport than expert management.  It’s more expensive counterpart, Huntsville, incorporated a security screening center as part of a multimillion dollar expansion in 2007, which might explain higher taxation.

-Xela Shultis & Justine Bayod Espoz