That's $800 for a family of 4. With the median household income at under $80,000, it's ridiculous to think the average person can afford to spend that much just to skip a line a couple times a year.
But a family of 4 is not the value proposition here. They are explicitly targeting frequent flyers that stand in the queue so often that the time saves add up.
If you're only traveling once a year, you can handle a 45 minute wait twice (although yes, it still sucks). If you're traveling once a week, it's a completely different ballpark.
> it's ridiculous to think the average person can afford to spend that much just to skip a line a couple times a year.
Well, sure, it's ridiculous to pay that much if you only travel a couple times a year. It's like how paying $700/year for airline lounge access is ridiculous if you only travel a couple times a year.
But $800 for a family of 4 is much closer to the average person than, say, using a private jet to skip security lines.
If you're only traveling once a year, you can handle a 45 minute wait twice (although yes, it still sucks). If you're traveling once a week, it's a completely different ballpark.