I don't get it...

GOOD. I know 90% of it all is security theater rather than security anyway (really, TSA? you think I've managed to hide explosives in a 1/4" thick pair of two-year-old $2 Old Navy flip-flops?) but never was it so egregiously advertised as with this. The whole thing always annoyed the hell out of me. Either we have the security checkpoints, universal and evenly administered (I know, I know, only in my dreams) or we don't.

I never signed up for Clear, even though I considered it. At the Atlanta airport, there is a different security area for the "Black Diamond" travelers, which are supposed to be the "expert travelers", and is typically just that, "expert travelers". Clear didn't work here because you would just have you cut the initial part of the family and casual traveler line, but wouldn't really save you that much time because you still got stuck behind families and casual travelers at the xray machines.

However, if I lived in Orlando and flew often, Clear would be a huge advantage. Even though Orlando has the different lanes for the different types of travelers (like most major airports do), the TSA only pays attention to and filters families with small children to the family lane (which is actually shorter half the time), everyone else is thrown in the other lanes. With Clear at the Orlando airport, you bypassed all the lines, and went through your own security screening line (the same one the pilots and flight attendants used). With a large number of the travelers flying through Orlando being tourists, bypassing all the people who don't fly often and slow things down is a huge advantage.

I think the company has a great idea. The implementation just fell short.

I fly fairly often, and never ONCE saw anyone go through their portal or whatever. Makes sense when you read they'd only signed up less than 300,000 people across the entire country. Hell, a quick Google search shows LAX alone serves 60 million passengers a year, pushing Clear's customers well into the statistical noise level.

Perhaps they went bankrupt because, while I never saw any of their customers around, they always had their stations manned with 4-5 employees. That's a lot of payroll to serve .004% of the flying public...

The problem I have with services like thse is that while they start out innocent enough, over time it goes from luxury status to near necessity. As a service like this becomes more popular airports will probably start putting more priority on getting those paying customers through while the already slow "free" checkpoints would get less staffing.

This same model is at work in a lot of concert arena parking lots. Our local outdoor venue has free parking and "premium" parking for $40. Of course they both share the same exit so security blocks off all the free exits until the premium lot is empty. This started out as a luxury but now you almost have to pay the $40 or risk getting stuck in the lot for 3 hours. I could see the same thing happening in time with this service.

The biggest downfall to Clear, in my mind, is that the person they're going after, the frequent business traveler (like me), doesnt' need clear. If you're elite on an airline, you typically get to use the First Class/elite line, which is even shorter than the Black Diamond line. I found myself consistently zipping through security in 5 minutes or less, regardless of the airport, as long as they had an elite line.

Ones where they don't are miserable, but those are also the airports/terminals least likely to have Clear.

The other big downfall of clear was that it didn't free you from any other restrictions. Clear spent a lot of time trying to get Congress, the TSA, etc. to give "special perks" to Clear members. If you told me I could pay $100-ish a year to not take off my shoes, not remove my jacket, not take my laptop out of my bag, etc., I might spring for it.

But I knew they were in trouble when friends of mine who were elites on one particular hotel chain got 6-month free Clear membership offers....and they both turned them down as not being worth it.

Actually, I had a CLEAR membership (offered free for having status at a hotel chain) and it saved tons of times at ATL. I was able to get through in 5 minutes once, when the lines were past the food court. In fact, I just used it on Monday for my flight. Not only did we get a different line to avoid the family and casual fliers, you also were able to cut through the rope directly to the screening line, which was reserved only for CLEAR members at peak times.
At Dulles, we were able to go in the downstairs security by baggage claim where usually only crew members can go. So there were obvious gains there as well. Orlando was also a good implementation of it. Reagan's was not usually necessary, but sometimes it would get backed up as well. Denver was good too from what I heard from others.
All of the propaganda from TSA and airports is crap. For those of us who travel in airports weekly, this was a good service and saved time.
The black diamond for expert travelers lines are completely bogus. They don't have any criteria, except for self recognition. So you always have people who clearly don't know how to get through quickly, that want to go in the line because it is shorter. They need to just let frequent fliers go through their own security lines or make a requirement that to be considered a black diamond you must have some status.

CLEAR was a great service, though without a business model. We cavemen used it quite a bit to save time and hassle.

@mzito: It really depends on the airport. Some airports like Atlanta have so many frequent travelers, that it still takes you 30-45 minutes on a Monday morning to get through elite lines.

Try United elite lines at OHare as well. Good luck zipping through in 10 minutes after 7am on Monday morning.

Those are the two airports with the heaviest traffic, so for those of us fortunate to travel out of them, there was a definite upside.

A greater issue than refunds for participating members is the question of what happens to their biometric data? This company's published privacy policy precludes them from sharing the information collected with third parties, unless required by law, but does not stipulate what will happen to the data when the company closes or is sold. If the latter, will the buyer's privacy policy supersede the original? This company was originally funded by Lockheed Martin, GE Security, Lehman Brothers and several venture-capital firms. Guess who owns your fingerprints, iris scans and other biometric data now? Who will have it tomorrow?

This honestly sounds exactly like what Southwest offers with their Fly By lane. [www.southwest.com]

I've used it before and it makes a difference. Getting through security in Pittsburgh was a breeze and the TSA officers were actually nice, including the one who put a happy face on my boarding pass when she checked my info. It was very strange to be happy flying, until my flight was delayed for 4 hours and I remembered why everyone hates flying.

I was offered CLEAR service for free (through a hotel status). I enjoyed the service well enough, but really didn't get to use it. When it came time to renew (which was just two weeks ago) I didn't. Lucky me. But, assuming that they would continue on with service I still wouldn't pay money for it.

1 - They didn't cover enough airports... especially my home airport (IAH) out of Houston, Texas.

2 - The services was useless when I traveled with a co-worker or with my wife on personal travels. If you're with anyone else who doesn't have the service you really don't save any time, as they have to go through the regular lines -- so you still have to arrive at the airport early and you'd have to wait for them on the other end of the security line anyway. I would ask my co-workers if they had CLEAR. If they said "no" I would just drop it and go through security with them. It would just be too odd (and rude) for me to use my CLEAR lane while they used a regular one; and I wouldn't be saving any time either.

The few times I did get to use it I was happy. One time I was running a bit behind and it saved me a good 15 minutes of standing in line. They escorted me from the CLEAR lane straight to the front of the line for the next security/x-ray check. As nice as this was, it still seemed a bit "rude" to cut in line in front of all those people, so I never really used the service after that. If CLEAR had it's own private screening lane, great... but if it meant walking me to cut in front of everyone else, I just see that as rude. Not my style. I'm not the type of person who will pay for the ability to be "rude" to other people. I'll just stick with my frequent flyer lines, if I qualify.

Wait you mean it wasn't the notebook with all their customer information, encluding biometeric data, all with out encryption they lost at National Airport that forced the feds to shut them down.. it was plane old lack of customers?

The process was retarded anyway you still had to wait in line at the metal detector and xray.

I thought it was a good idea in its original incarnation, a separate (passenger paid) security screening checkpoint, where pre-verified passengers would be able to have shorter and separate screening lines, and without the need to remove ones shoes. However, the TSA kind of gutted the program by saying they would basically feed their customers into the same lines, just at the head of the line, and no special allowance for shoes, etc, so being pre-cleared no longer means anything -- it just means you got to cut the line for a fee (what's the point of the pre-clearance then?). This questions what the whole service is really for -- now it's just paying extra to go to the front of the line.

And unfortunately, I guess they've been hit by a travel slowdown as well. Fewer flights, fewer passengers, shorter lines for people to be unhappy about to the extent that they want to pay for a special faster line.

Also, I always wondered how $100 per registered traveler per year, could pay for dozens (maybe?) of people employed at each Clear-served airport around the country.

It was an interesting idea, but apparently unsustainable.

I fly out of ATL when I fly. Sure, I have waited in the 3hr security lines a few years ago. But honestly, in the past year I have never had to wait more than 30 minutes or so in the normal security line. So IMO, whatever they have changed is working.

@ceriphim: Lets be honest, the percentage is probably slightly higher than that. Maybe not that much high, but if an airport serves 60 million "passengers", that's not nessessarily the same as 60 million different people. That could mean (as an extreme example) one person flying through 60 million times a year, if they were a clear customer, clear would have served 60 million passengers, but would only have had one person.

I purchased the Clear membership abt 3 weeks ago, and only got to use it once or twice. I looked at it as an "insurance" policy in the event I was running late for a flight. Several airports I use (Newark, Orlando, etc) can be a security nightmare, and it's a "nice to have".

I was pretty bummed that they went out of service. However, I disputed the charge with AmEx, and said that as a part of their merchant agreement, they can "force" a refund from the merchant. At worst, I'll be out 1/12th of the cost...for the (almost) one month I had the service.

@tripnman: According to their website (flyclear.com), they're going to delete it all under the terms of their contract with the TSA. As a former Clear member, I think I'll take a look at identity theft insurance right now...

I got Clear free for a year through a hotel frequent traveler program and used it most often at Reagan airport in D.C. While I can appreciate the comments of those who never saw Clear making that much of a difference at other airports, it was a huge help at Reagan. Before I had Clear, I remember being in the regular security line behind three Buddhist monks in full robes, and none of the monks spoke English. I would have killed to fast-forward past them at the time, and was grateful for Clear when I finally got it.

All that said, it made no sense to go through all the biometric scanning and still have to show my ID and go through the full security screen. $100 to go to the head of the line? I wouldn't pay my own money just for that, and it doesn't surprise me that the service died.

I am glad I heald off on renewing my membership which was coming due next month. Bummer for people that purchased multi-year contacts. Also, I was getting countless marketing emails from them leading up to fathers day. I will miss using my CLEAR card. I primarily fly out of Dulles and San Francisco and was able to get through security in minutes at both airports using CLEAR. This was especially handy around the holidays. Now I will just have to use the United Premier lane.

I signed up for a Clear membership when the company first started operating in the Orlando airport. The service was $99/year and provided a huge advantage for me to bypass the ridiculously long lines there. Back then I was flying quite frequently and Orlando was my home airport. Anyone who has ever flown out of Orlando knows that you can wait 2 or more hours standing in line just waiting to get to the security area. With my Clear membership I was able to wait until only a couple of minutes before my flight was to board to approach the line. In and out, simple and easy. Of course the other people in the regular lines would glare at you like they wanted to kill you but I paid for my privilege to cut the line and in my opinion it was worth every penny.

The only airport I've been to that uses the "Black Diamond" line (Orlando, FL - MCO) doesn't do anything to encourage the use of the lines by the targeted travelers. The lines are long and I always end up getting stuck behind the tourists when I could get through faster if there was some sort of encouragement to follow the lines. Not only is there no encouragement but the TSA agents tell travelers to ignore the signs if asked.

@Kogenta: But they've only paid Clear one time for the privilege of cutting in line in front of themself.

I think the problem is that a few people really used the service and everyone else just planned an extra hour for the friendly guys with the rubber gloves. Really though I've been through busy airports with full lines and as long as I E-ticket and don't check any bags I have never had it take longer than 30 minutes to clear security at an airport. Even 2 weeks before XMas.

The whole "people can pay more to avoid government-mandated inconvenience" vibe has always struck me as classist, undemocratic and unamerican, whether it's security lines at the airports, or dealing with any other kind of gov't bureaucracy.

The problem with things like CLEAR is that the regular folks get screwed: People who really don't want to deal with problems in the system can pay their way around them, but this reduces incentives to fix the system (and in fact may even discourage fixes) since more problems equals more people willing to pay to get around them.

I'm not sad to see this company gone.

FWIW, I've been a Clear customer since they were first available at IAD, and I'll be sorry to see them go. At Dulles, the Clear line did double duty as the employee line so they were all staffed up with non-idiot non-power-tripping TSA employees. Worst time to clear security from the time I walked up to the booth was 3.5 minutes and that was a day they were having issues with the x-ray machine. Typically sub-2-minute. One time I forgot my Clear card and man oh man did the diamond lane (right next to the Clear lane at Dulles) suck. Expensive? Sure, but so are blood pressure meds, and for dealing with the TSA on a regular basis it's gonna be one or the other.

Clear, you will be missed. :-(

@acousticdank:

Agreed completely. In fact, technically "black diamond" lines are supposed to be only for Elite frequent flier members, or people holding a first-class ticket, though they never check. Clear was the option for those of us who travel enough to know what we're doing, but not enough to qualify for Elite status. And the reserved security lane exponentially sped-up the process of getting through security--my Clear card routinely got me through security faster than my Elite status partner.

The biggest reason I never got CLEAR was because I didn't feel like handing over a lot of personal information to an outside company like that. Hell, I work for the feds, I already went through enough background checks with them, so why isn't there a dedicated lane for federal travelers (especially when traveling on business)?

Besides that, BWI seems to have their act together when it comes to getting through security, even if people have flipped out at them using the backscatter x-ray machines (hope the screeners love looking at my PA :-P )

Atlanta has really improved. I've flown out of there several times around afternoon rush hour and the security lines were basically walk-up.

@sashazur: I take it your desire to drag everyone down to the lowest common denominator extends to health care and schools as well?

good riddance. if you had a couple hundred bucks a year you could pay to cut in line at a few airports. now all of the suckers who bought into it have private and biometric information trapped inside of a bankrupt company.

this will end well.

@Hooray4Zoidberg: "..blocks off all the free exits..." would not work with me. I will RUN YOUR ASS OVER, mr. security guard. Get a real badge or get out of the way.

@sibelius: About the rudeness issue here is one which my wife freaks out about:

We are standing in line waiting to approach the security screening tables after having our IDs/boarding passes checked and scribled by some security subcontractor flunky. I am fully prepared with shoes untied, belt off, laptop ready to be pulled, phones off, etc. I will look to see if a table line to my right or left is clogged by some family or infrequent traveler who is struggling to comprehend what they need to take off/out. If this person or group is at the start of the table(s) and delays enough for most or all of the bin table(s) to clear out in front of them, I bop over from my line, dump my stuff into the bins and onto the belt and walk through the metal detector in front of them.

She thinks I am being rude but I figure that if that person is delaying the process by taking enough time to prepare their stuff to let such a long gap be created, that I, being more prepared, should be able to cut in front of the slower person/group.

@sashazur: I guess you don't like executives and politicians riding on private jets then...

The use of private jets is the item that I think keeps the TSA from getting beat down by the politicians. If they really had to experience the bullxhit of packing their own carry on <3oz bottles, getting searched, and having to pad around in their taxpayer bought paid socks, this system would change pretty quickly.

@12-Inch Idongivafuck Sandwich: I use Hartsfield ... do you have to be a frequent traveler to use the black diamond lines, or can you do something to qualify?

The new line has been great, but I'm worried it won't last. Last time I flew the second line was a breeze and the original line looked like a cattle chute.

@bpclay: That's good to hear--I had to fly out of Atlanta once for business, and no one warned us about the insanity that is the security line there. If my friend hadn't BSed us into the black diamond lane, we would have missed our flight, despite having gotten to the airport the 2 hours early recommended by the TSA. First (and only) time I've ever had to run to catch a plane--we got there just before they closed the gate!

@sibelius: I feel the same way about things like this, just not enough to prevent me from using it. I never used clear becasue I dont fly enough, but I have passes for my movie theater that get me reserved seats, no linesetc, and on premier nights (like tonight for transformers 2) there will be 3 long lines for the opening shows (at least) and people will be waiting for hours to get decent seats. I however, will just walk ahead of the line, or wait till everyone gets seated then be escorted in to my reserved seats.

I feel like im being rude(unless people start bitching at me, which many do, in which case I find it funny), but I also pay $100/yr for that ability. Same with theme park passes that allow you to jump lines.

So im mixed about it. On one hand, I feel bad for skipping ahead of everyone, on the other, I worked for my money which I decided to spend on that privledge.

@Hooray4Zoidberg: You wouldnt happen to be referring to Great Woods/aka/Tweeter Center/Comcast Center or WTF its called this week in MA would you?

Friend of mine was telling me his kids were going to a show there, and he set a curfew of an hour or two after the event.. Told him they wont be able to get out of the parking lot for at least 3+ hours.... She ended up calling her father in a panic at 2 am when they still havent let them out of the parking lot..

@kepler11: What you're calling lowest common denominator is what I'd call basic human decency.

@mzito: Since the airline I work for serves a limited number of airports, and I really can't use the 'ol crew badge to cut ahead of people off-duty, I signed up for Clear when it first came out.

It made sense...just as you said, you didn't have to take your shoes off, you could keep your laptop in your bag, etc. Recently it was just a huge PITA. You not only needed to scan your iris, but you had to present your Clear ID card, AND your state issued ID (as well as your boarding pass.).

What happens to all of that personal data?

@Gizmosmonster: Expect more car warranty calls?

@Etoiles: Did you even USE it? Probably not. Clear was great. I got it for free, so it was even better. If your beef is with TSA and their lack of legitimate efforts to legitimately screen people, then beef it with them. Clear made it so I didn't have to wait in line to be non-thoroughly screened. I'd rather have little or no wait for TSA to do a half-assed job, then stand behind nitwits like you that don't get the whole point anyway.