Clear, the company that built a business around a shorter line for access to TSA security lines, has gone under. If you’ve paid for a Clear membership, your card will be worthless before the night is out.
The Clear website has a sad announcement:
Clear Lanes Are No Longer Available.
At 11:00 p.m. PST on June 22, 2009, Clear will cease operations. Clear’s parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.
As longtime readers may recall, I never found the concept of Clear compelling. Travelers who flew enough to benefit the most from a shorter line at security would likely be elite members of their frequent flyer program, which, in turn, would grant them access to shorter lines at major airports. Smaller airports have fewer lines to begin with, making Clear unnecessary for anyone at those sites.
It was a concept without a core customer base. The fact that they recently doubled their annual fee wasn’t much help either. And apparently their credit line has run out. R.I.P., Clear.
Related:
- Do airlines’ most frequent flyers deserve shorter security lines?
- Your shoes remain a threat to security
- Would you pay a fee to reserve a time to pass through airport security?
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June 22nd, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Cannot believe this! Did not even have the decency to send me an e-mail. I do hope they shred all my personal info… NOT. Do you think I can get a refund by complaining to my credit card company???
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
How hacked off am I? I had just renewed for a three year membership!! Time for a lawsuit Steven Brill.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:19 pm
That’s terrible. They saved me many hours of wait time in security lines. Wonder if another Registered Traveler provider will pick up Clear’s customers.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:30 pm
I too am a CLEAR customer who LOVED the service. Sure, I could use the airline elite line, but sometimes it was long…. I am just lucky that I had not yet renewed, and my membership expires in about 2 weeks….. It may be a niche market, but it was GREAT service. I wish the excellent employees the best of luck, and hopefully those of you that paid recently can get your money back.
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:29 am
Good riddance to a bad idea.
Pay to sacrifice even more of your privacy, so that you can go to the front of the line… What could possibly go wrong with a business plan like that?
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:48 am
@NotClear and @JimL, and for anyone else who recently renewed, you should contact your credit card company to see about having the charges reversed, since the services you paid for are not being provided.
Good luck. Please report back what you hear from your credit card co.
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:13 am
Clear does have a market, and I will tell you what it is. The droves of older folks who travel infrequently. None of them can endure the risk of standing for a half hour and jockying for their position constantly. They frequently opt not to travel. As a business traveller I am imune to the indifference of those few employees that are just plain mean at security. (watch how they yell at folks in NYC area or LAX) (REMOVE SHOES!… and step in the filth and gum) For me, anything that reduces this stress such as a Clear employee being nice and helpful is a boon. This is why I wanted to surprise my parents with a Clear membership. Even if they used it once in the three years, I would be happy to know I reduced their stress and maybe made the difference in planning their next vacation. Clear gets it, and should take over all Airport security!
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
You are wrong that they had no customer base, although clearly they did not have a big enough one or market to it well. Many people (like me) travel frequently but go for cheap tickets – we don’t get much in the way of frequent flier points, and they are too distributed to achieve status. Clear saved my ass several times and I loved the service. Fortunately I got it for free through the Hilton Honors program.
Their problem was that they did not need all that expensive biometric security since they did not reduce the amount of security one went through. They were essentially a paid fast-lane for security.
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I like that the defenders of Clear here are those who got the Clear membership for free, or who were giving the membership to an occasional traveler as a gift.
That’s a pretty lousy business model.
Having said that, I feel sorry for the Clear employees who lost their jobs because of this. Good luck to those looking for work in this economy.
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Well that sucks. I got the email and I was not happy. I liked clear and I also liked that I was able to use the new cards with the picture as my ID rather than my drivers lic.
What really chaps me is I just renewed mine and I my husband’s membership.
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Called the VISA company, it is under review.
A lot of other people no happy:
http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/registered-traveler–4694/
Maybe the Obama administration can bailout and then run Clear!
June 25th, 2009 at 12:43 am
[...] free card is dead: It was always a dumb idea, and now the company that made it seem possible is out of business. Gee, maybe now the TSA will have to get serious about security that [...]