international itineraries now qualify for TSA PreCheck!

in one of my links that i had posted a few days back, i noted that the points guy discovered that he could use the tsa PreCheck lanes for security despite having an international segment on his itinerary. it used to be that having an international segment (even to canada) would force you to use the traditional lines at tsa PreCheck enabled american airports. this always irritated me because as a canadian, there is always going to be at least one segment whereby travel would be international. therefore, i would never be eligible for the service.

yesterday, while browsing the flyertalk forums, i came across this post which linked me to the tsa's official announcement about including itineraries with international segments.

WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today that beginning May 7, 2013, in addition to domestic travel, TSA Pre✓™ participants will be eligible for expedited screening on select international travel itineraries. Eligible passengers traveling on Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways will be allowed to leave on their shoes, light outerwear and belt, keep their laptop in its case, and their 3-1-1 compliant liquids/gels bag in a carry-on.

Passengers flying internationally from the 40 participating TSA Pre✓™ airports may be eligible to receive expedited screening. In addition, passengers with connecting domestic flights who arrive in the United States on an international flight may use the TSA Pre✓™ lanes when going through the screening process at participating airports after being cleared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

this comes six months after the tsa allowed canadian citizens holding nexus passes to use the PreCheck program on purely domestic itineraries.

why is this important?

1. though i've never used it, i can only imagine that PreCheck is a more comfortable experience. no need to remove shoes (how disgusting are airport floors?), you don't have to remove liquids or your computer from the carry-ons, don't have to remove belts and heavy jackets.
2. those who are eligible for PreCheck are just more experienced travelers. they're either all frequent flyer elites of the american programs or members of the trusted traveler program. infrequent flyers who don't know that you can't bring knives or tons of liquids generally have no need of trusted traveler cards. therefore, it is a faster experience.
3. provided that the PreCheck lanes are close to the gate, PreCheck usually has a shorter wait. at LAX terminal 7 (united's terminal), the premier/star gold security line cuts ahead of the regular line by sometimes 10-20 meters. but they both merge into a common line. the PreCheck lane is its own separate process. every time i've been there, the PreCheck lane is almost always empty, and even then, they get their own dedicated screening station. this makes things even faster for everyone involved.

will this change behaviour?

1. does it mean that i will arrive at the airport later because of a faster screening process? unfortunately, it won't. as per PreCheck's rules, you can randomly be reassigned to use regular screening line (but at least you can merge into the pre-existing line). if this happens, then you'll still need a fair bit of time to clear security. if i do get approved to use the PreCheck, it would simply mean less time in line, and more time leftover in a lounge somewhere.
2. does it change my booking behaviour? in a previous post, i had explained my booking strategy for transborder travel. because air canada would only give 50% status miles (compared to 100% at united) for my main program (asiana airlines), united would make more sense to me. the chance to use PreCheck only makes the choice easier.

i'm excited to try PreCheck when i head to hawaii in a few weeks!