USA Today: To avoid TSA no-fly name games, DO NOT fly "Southwest"

I did some googling, and found that No Fly Lists are not uniform. Here is a story of how one man managed to avoid them, even though his name was on the No-Fly-List. He found he simply should stop flying Southswest. (of course now that I post this article on the DKos, I am releasing classified information, and hence a leaker)

Shortly after 9/11, somehow my name ended up on a list. What list is hard for me to figure out. I fly mostly Southwest. Every time I book travel, I am unable to take advantage of the airline's Internet-generated boarding passes to get a better boarding group. I also can't check in at the curbside. I must always go to the ticket counter, even with electronic ticketless purchases, and get my ID checked.

When I asked airline personnel about this, some people stated I am on a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) list and must take it up with the agency, while others said I am on an FBI list. When I query the ticket agents, they are evasive and tell me to fill out some paperwork with the TSA or they just give me the TSA toll-free telephone number for inquiries.

However, I spoke face-to-face to TSA agents in Atlanta recently, and was told by them that I am on no such list at all. One agent told me that the TSA does not provide lists to Southwest or any other airline, and that Southwest does this a lot and the TSA has nothing to do with it. He further told me that, if I watched the pattern, I was only experiencing this when I flew Southwest and not any other airline.

This turned out to be true. I flew with America West and Delta and didn't have a problem at all.

So here I am, three years later, a frequent flyer still experiencing the same problem. Is any of this true? How can I find out whose list I am on and how to get myself removed?

USA Today Article