Clear security lanes storming back to airports, principled travelers high five one another
By Darren Murph 
posted May 5th 2010 10:16AM
posted May 5th 2010 10:16AM
CLEAR Acquired Out of Bankruptcy
New Owners to Reinstate and Honor Subscription Terms of Previous Members
Expects to be in Major Airports in the Fall 2010
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alclear, LLC today announced that it has acquired the assets of Verified Identity Pass Inc. out of bankruptcy protection. The Company plans to re-launch CLEAR, its biometric-based, secure Trusted Traveler program, in select major airports in the fall of 2010. Enrollment for new customers is expected to begin in the summer 2010 and the subscription terms of nearly 160,000 previous members will be honored.
"We are rebuilding CLEAR with our members and for our members. We are working to build our footprint and re-introduce the program. We look forward to partnering with airports nationwide, regulators and lawmakers to ensure CLEAR's success."
CLEAR is a secure biometric identification platform that pledges predictability, expedience, and service for its members through airport security. CLEAR will activate valuable privileges and amenities both locally and nationally for its customers. Pricing plans will include: $179.00 per year flat fee for unlimited use or a family plan, for an additional $50.00 on top of the unlimited plan.
"We are thrilled to re-launch CLEAR – a service with proven demand that will increase airport efficiency and security while delivering significant value to our customers," said Caryn Seidman-Becker, Chairman and CEO of CLEAR. "We are rebuilding CLEAR with our members and for our members. We are working to build our footprint and re-introduce the program. We look forward to partnering with airports nationwide, regulators and lawmakers to ensure CLEAR's success."
CLEAR's Board of Directors will include Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Craig Coy, former President and COO of L3 Communications' Homeland Security Group and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Port Authority, and Robert LaPenta, Chairman, President and CEO of L-1 Identity Solutions. The Company is assembling a world class management team with significant experience in the aviation, marketing, and security industries.
About CLEAR
CLEAR, the original Registered Traveler program, will offer a biometric-based secure identification platform to deliver significant value for customers, increase predictability and enhance airport security. For more information please visit www.flyclear.com.
D..
...on't?
@Sean Connery
the D is next to the image. it's more of spacing issue than typo
@inspiron41 coding issue actually, the "D" is enclosed in the preceding div tag.
@Sean Connery - on't be a troublemaker.
@Sean Connery I really wish they would combine all these "low risk traveler" programs together. By now there's the private CLEAR, but also a separate NEXUS (US/Canadian border) plus Sentri (US/Mexican border) plus Global Entry (fast re-entry into the U.S. when you come back by airplane so long as you land in certain airports). So if you really travel a lot you'd have to carry around a bajillion different cards and have your retina scanned for multiple databases and undergo security clearance for CLEAR and the government programs (which at least do share their security checks so you don't have to pointlessly pass the same background check 3 times). Oh and pay a bazillion dollars per year while carrying around like 4 ID cards.
Feelin like a freak on a leash...
@DoctarPeppar
"Feelin like a freak on a leash..."
Exactly!!! and everyone seem to be liking it. We're actually celebrating this - and calling for more implements of enslavement. That speak to some very sick underlying issues. Are the psychosocial blinders so tight that its difficult to see where all of this is headed?
Good citizen/ bad citizen... silent majority... snitch culture... where's the pride and honor again?
@F C
Lol it's the lyrics of a Korn song...I said that cause the card says Jon Davis -- also the name of the singer from Korn...
@DoctarPeppar. Pew Pew
@F C wooooosh!
dont call it a typo. or do...
@dus1988
Except it isn't...
@BigJayDogg3 how so good sir? i am pretty sure its supposed to be "Dont call it a come back." instead of "ont call it a come back."
@dus1988
The "D" is there. There's a formatting issue. Not a typo.
@dus1988 D
ont call it a typo
The first thing I thought was that Clear[wire] was introducing a new Jumbo SIM card
@yulebellow
my thoughts exactly
This is a good idea but it sucks that they're hardly available anywhere.
I hope they can get some more negotiations going with popular airports.
@DoctarPeppar If you think it's a good policy, read this paper from those crazy kids at MIT http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/student-papers/spring02-papers/caps.htm
Once you have that card, you are free from random searches. Before you argue "but, people wont be able to get that card". Read the article.
@xtasi
TLDR.
on't you back talk me!
The hell is this 'Clear' supposed to be anyway?
@aard
As a government program, it costs 3X as much and achieves the opposite of what was expected.
@aard The press-release offers a bit more info, and the rest I think we can deduct reasonably well. They check you out, including setting up biometrics, and you can go through a speed lane where you do not have to show your driver's license (though presumably you swipe the card and either use finger prints or retina/face recognition. instead).
Or, I could just use my Advantage Platinum card to skip to the head of the line for free at all airports.
@quag Though that just gets you down the premium line if on your airline/network. Often those lines are choked with high status flyers like you. Clear was really instant entry regardless of how busy the airport was. It was brilliant for "last minute" travellers like me. Glad it's back and hope it expands reasonably fast.
> that just gets you down the premium line if on your airline/network
Not for me. I use my AA Platinum card even if I'm not flying American. Do it all the time.
> Often those lines are choked with high status flyers like you
This never happens to me. When I fly (which is about 3 flights a week) I never experience a wait in the "premium customer" line.
> Clear ... was brilliant
Glad it was good for you. It never came to my home airport, so it was useless to me.
so instead of bending over and letting the man stick it to you, he uses lube for the low price of $179 per year
@andyg8180
This is a service for company travelers who cannot afford fractional jet ownership/a flight department of their own. IF your running late for a business trip, this is very nice service, I wouldn't be so blunt on analyzing them....
@xler8r
No one should have to pay hundreds for year for the "privilege" of not being treated like shit by government employees who aren't capable of actually preventing non-existent domestic terrorist attacks.
Besides, the lines in front of the security checkpoints would make much more tempting targets if numbers were all that mattered to you, due to the bottleneck they cause.
Good for them!
Its always good to see a company come back, however last time I read about these guys they had just tanked and their CEO had gone and run out on the company! If i'm not mistaken all their customers were left having paid for a product with no usage and/or refund... I may be wrong.
What exactly does this do? Is it like an electronic passport or something?
@BigJayDogg3
The company does a background check on you and this is considered "Reputable". Think of it as a security clearance. If you pass the screen, then there's no reason (in theory) for you to always go through security.
There was mention at one time of them using retinal scanners instead of a card or in addition to it for verification.
Hmm, at some airports in the UK, we have IRIS, which means you walk up to a machine, look in to a camera and it lets ya though. It's fantastic, because it's fast and not a lot of people have signed up to it.
I would've thought that a card based system would be quite insecure, i.e. you lose your card?!
Here's more info on it:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/managingborders/technology/iris/
@bakertony Oh yeah, and IRIS is free to sign up for and takes 5 mins. One of the very few things the UK gov has done right...
@bakertony
Same thing as the Nexus cards here in US/Canada.
@wobbl I assume "nexus card" still means there's a card involved? To me, that doesn't seem as secure as an IRIS scan which only requires you to carry your eyes in your head, please correct me if I'm wrong...
Are you also saying the nexus card is free?
Also, if you already have Nexus card in the US, what's the point of bringing back this Clear card?
@bakertony
Actually, "Nexus Card" does involve an iris scan. But all it does is move you faster through the immigration line at the airport when moving between the US and Canada.
The Nexus card does not move you any faster through security, which is what the Clear card is intended to do.
As a guy who takes about 80 flights a year, I can say from experience that the longest wait is the one in the security line. But all you need is a "preferred passenger" card from any airline and you can cut to the front of that line. At least that's how it works in all of the US airports I fly in and out of.
@bakertony
Oh, and no the Nexus card is not free. It's $50, it involves a background check and an interview with the immigration folks at the airport. And it will only help you when traveling between Canada and the US. It provides no value when traveling within the boundaries of the US (or any other country.)
When flying from Canada to the US (at least from Calgary) you clear US immigration inside the Canadian airport. Then you get dumped into the security line. So speeding through immigration with your Nexus card still dumps you into the traffic jam at the security scan.
@bakertony Clear probably stores the biometric info in the card instead of a central server (which I prefer to big brother having my biometric data - though I'm a greencard holder so I'm hosed anyway haha). The press release clearly does mention biometric at least, so there has to be some kind of physical check that you are the correct owner of the card.
@bakertony Well if you lose your card you'll have to get a new one but it's not only card-based...the card just lets the machine look up who you're supposed to be, and then it matches your retinal scan against what it ought to be like. It'd be pretty insanely slow and impractical to attempt to match your retinal scan on the fly against ever single person in the database since that'd take forever and it'd be pretty terrible security if it let random people through just because their retina had a similar pattern as someone in the database.
So you swipe your card, it looks up what your retinal scan should look like, you put your eye in the scanning area and it scans to see if it matches. Nobody can just swipe the card and walk through or anything like that. I just wish it wasn't limited to so few airports, which makes paying that fee a lot harder to justify if it's only occasionally saving you time.
And they really should integrate this stuff with Nexus/Sentry/Global Entry, etc. so that you don't have to undergo a bajillion different background checks. Maybe a discount for people with both or something.
@tekdemon
> It'd be pretty insanely slow and impractical to attempt to match your retinal scan on the fly against ever single person in the database since that'd take forever and it'd be pretty terrible security if it let random people through just because their retina had a similar pattern as someone in the database.
Um, I'm guessing that you didn't read the rest of the thread that you replied to, but that's EXACTLY what happens at Heathrow, Gatwick and a couple other airports in the UK. It actually scans your iris (hence the name of it being called IRIS) rather than your retina though.
The "insanely slow" time it takes to compare my eyes against the rest of the database is usually on the order of 2-3 seconds, perhaps faster. I imagine it "fails safe" as well, rather than letting people through if it can't find their scan, which I've seen happen.
Therefore, I ask again, why the heck do you need the card? Perhaps the US security guys need an upgrade of hardware or someone to wake them up to more convenient technologies?
Bring it to Atlanta, please.
I think JFK needs it more. Changing airlines there means going through security again. :( At least at Hartsfield/Jackson you don't have to deal with security when passing through.
I find this to be all BS.
So just because you have some money, you should be allowed to side-step security procedures at airports?
Screw that.
@Hazdaz It's not much difference from people traveling business class going into the speedlane for checking in, and in many airports also speed-lane security checkpoints. If you pay more money, you get better service.
YEEEEAAAAASSSS! I loved looking like a spoiled brat businessman walking thru those lanes... they saved me hours of Disney World like line waits. Worth every penny!
Is this a bit like the Ident-i-Eze card out of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?
This is a huge security hole, btw. A potential terrorist can just apply for Clear instead of taking his chances at the airport. If he passes the background check, he's gold. If not, another terrorist takes his place.
@oddTodd123 I cannot imagine that you and your carry-on will somehow escape being scanned just because you have this card. They must be setting up a speed lane where this goes much faster, and they use biometrics to get rid of the "looking at drivers license and boarding pass" step.