RESURRECTED
CLEAR EXPEDITING
ENTRY AT AIRPORTS,
STADIUMS GINA JORDAN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, AVISIAN PUBLICATIONS
Registered traveler programs are booming as airlines welcome record numbers of passengers. CLEAR, one of the programs that started it all a decade ago, is back and now operating in 13 U.S. airports and three Major League Baseball stadiums. The original incarnation of CLEAR launched at Orlando International Airport in 2005 and quickly grew to more than a 18 airports. But it was hit with bad publicity in 2008 when an unencrypted laptop containing personal information of 33,000 CLEAR users disappeared. The Transportation Security Administration suspended new enrollment, and in June of 2009, the company went bankrupt. The following year, new investors emerged. “We bought the assets out of bankruptcy in early 2010, and we relaunched the business in November of 2010 at Denver International Airport and Orlando International Airport,” says president and CFO Ken Cornick, one of the co-founders of the new CLEAR. “We had nothing to do with the old company.” The new team saw the potential for a viable business by implementing a better cost structure and holding growth to a manageable pace. “We saw a sort of beloved product. People really loved the service,” Cornick says. “Who wants to wait in line at an airport? Users were missing the service and they wanted it back.” CLEAR customers can sign up online or at a participating airport. They complete the registration in person by showing an ID and having their fingerprints and iris image captured. A CLEAR card with a contact chip is issued as the identification credential for an annual fee of $179. “Once you’re enrolled, you can walk over to the security checkpoint and use CLEAR immediately,” Cornick says. Users scan their boarding pass, tap their finger, and move directly to the physical screening. “You’re getting your ID checked and your boarding passes validated,” he says. “That’s the first step, and that’s where CLEAR provides an efficient, predictable experience so you know you’re going to get through the process in generally five minutes or less.” Cornick would not disclose enrollment numbers, but he says the business is thriving and just began operations at its thirteenth airport in Austin, Texas.
NOT JUST FOR AIRPORTS CLEAR is expanding its business model beyond airports. Major League Baseball now requires all 30 of its teams to screen fans using hand-held metal detectors or walk-through magnetometers, and CLEAR is expediting access at the Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants stadiums. The partnership with the Giants was CLEAR’s first expansion outside of the travel industry. The team and the company spent about two years trying to find the easiest and most efficient way to usher fans into the stadium. Beta testing of the program began at AT&T Park late last year, and it was opened to all Giants fans this season.
50
Winter 2015