Every time we write about CLEAR expanding to a new airport, we inevitably get a reply saying “I wish CLEAR would come to (random airport).”
If your home airport doesn’t have CLEAR, I could see how that might make you feel left out. What you need to remember is that CLEAR is a company and they have to make money (or at least remain appealing to investors) to stay in business. That means only opening at locations where there are enough passengers to make the investment in space, equipment and staff worth the money.
However, it’s not that simple. Two of CLEAR’s investors are Delta Airlines and United Airlines. This is why you’ll see CLEAR outposts at the checkpoints serving those airlines and possibly not anywhere else at an airport. This is very evident at airports where airlines control different terminal buildings, like JFK or LAX.
But the question piqued my interest. What are the busiest airports in the US without CLEAR? The actual airport rankings might be off a few places from year to year but there is a definite trend in which airports don’t yet have CLEAR.
- 11. Charlotte
- 20. Philadelphia
- 27. Tampa
- 29. Honolulu
- 30. Portland
- 37. Raleigh/Durham
- 41. Kansas City
- 42. Santa Ana
- 43. Fort Myers
- 46. Indianapolis
Both Charlotte and Philadelphia are American Airlines hubs, so there’s little to wonder why CLEAR hasn’t expanded there yet. On the opposite end of the spectrum, here are the five least busy airports to have CLEAR terminals.
- 53. Palm Beach
- 57. Ontario, CA
- 78. Birmingham
- 84. Palm Springs
- 100. White Plains, NY
The less busy airports with CLEAR either serve an affluent area (Palm Beach and Palm Springs) which are more likely to pay for an upgraded experience, or are just outside a large metropolitan area (New York City and Los Angeles.) While Birmingham doesn’t fit either category, the main airline operating there is Delta which feeds flights to its Atlanta hub.
Looking a the list, CLEAR serves the top 10 airports in the US and 18 of the top 20.
CLEAR is always adding airports so I guess there’s hope for the 10 airports of the top 50 which doesn’t have them yet. If your airport has a large Delta or United presence, you’re probably going to be higher up on the list.
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3 comments
Pittsburgh is #47 and does not have CLEAR.
no Clear in LGA terminal B. Only at Delta terminal. $15 ‘use fee’ that no one knows where the $$$ goes. LGA is a zoo.
It’s worse than it looks as most AA terminals don’t have CLEAR even if the airport does in Delta or United terminals. AA really needs to get onboard with this.