Hi all
Can agree with most of the anecdotal (or is it factual??) reasons for getting SSSSed. Back in 2004 I was flying 12 times a year to the States form London, each time with connecting services from Chicago to other ports.
At the beginning of the year, my tickets were booked through AA.com via their UK office. For some reason, I would ring them and enter my QF FF number, but it never 'took' in the system (ie - I couldn't, by virtue of my status, get access automatically to exit row seating etc etc, and BP printing out as zone 2/3 or 4 intstead of zone 1).
On a lot of these flights (not the international ones), I got SSSSed.
Also at the beginning of 2004 I travelled some internal USA flights which had been booked and paid for in the States, or were as a result of cancelled flights on AA necessitating me to book one-way flights on other carriers to meet my international sectors. All of these flights were SSSSed.
About 1/3 the way into 2004 I would book my flights through AA.com, but then ring the States to get my QF FF card number entered. Doing it this way made sure the FF number and status 'took' to the booking (and I could get exit seats and the BP printed in zone 1 automatically). Surprise surprise - no more SSSSs!
And in fact I have had none since (maybe I'm now on the OK list??).
Also interesting to note that a recent one way flight in the States also didn't SSSS (this was on Southwest).
Unlike many Americans - I really have no problem with the process - I would rather have a bit more time taken at the airport for a thorough search than risk on on-board incident. The SSSS also worked to my advantage one time in Tampa where the regular security lines were running at about a 30 min queue time, but the SSSS line was empty - got through way before anyone else.
Regards
FlyFirst.