Oh Goody…CLEAR+ Lines Are Going to Get Even Longer

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Despite advertising itself as a way to “get through security faster,” it’s not surprising to hear that CLEAR doesn’t truly seem to have passengers’ time at the heart of its mission.  And with its latest announcement, it seems like our time matters less and less to them.

A brief history

Looking at CLEAR from a historical standpoint, the program really did used to save people time at the airport. MCO was the first airport to offer CLEAR, back in 2010. But think about what was around in 2010…LLLOOONNNGGG lines at the TSA kiosks. And what wasn’t at the airports in 2010? TSA PreCheck. That didn’t start until December, 2013. So of course those lucky ducks who had CLEAR back in 2010 were shaving lots of time off their waits.

But then CLEAR started getting smart. They began offering free 3-month CLEAR memberships at the airports. Yep, suddenly there were (still are) CLEAR representatives at the airport, giving away memberships like there was no tomorrow. It kinda reminded me of when I was working my way through college as a market research person (read: an annoying person with a clipboard) at our local mall.

Oh, and not only were these offers at the airport, but CLEAR members would get emails (still do) where they could offer their friends and families free 3-month memberships too.

Those free 3-month memberships are sweet, but each “new” member has to be processed by a CLEAR representative. Back when they had 4 or more people working at the kiosks at one time, that was fine. But then they cut staffing down to 3 or sometimes even 2 people. So while one person processes the new members, the other person gets the “old” members (you know, the ones who CLEAR already has their money). And, of course, the CLEAR line backs up. And backs up some more.

And I don’t know about other airports, but at MCO, where all of this started, it’s not unusual to see the “CLEAR + PreCheck” line be three times longer than the regular PreCheck line during busier times of day. And that’s just stupid.

CLEAR’s announcement

You’d hope that a company that’s charging people over $200/year for individual memberships for shorter lines would be announcing something that would make their increasingly long lines, you know, shorter. But no; instead they’re going to make them longer.

They’re introducing CLEAR+ membership to travelers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

“Travelers from these initial four countries can join CLEAR+ by simply enrolling online or in person at a CLEAR airport with their passport,” CLEAR said in a press release. “Once enrolled, they’ll have immediate access to CLEAR’s nationwide network of 150+ Lanes to speed through airport security lines, turning airport stress into peace of mind.”

They continue that, “This milestone opens the door for international travelers to experience faster, more predictable and frictionless airport security across CLEAR’s nationwide network.” Not mentioned that it’s at the expense of the 7.6 million CLEAR+ members currently on its platform already.

And, the kicker? Additional countries are expected to be announced later this year.

Awesomesauce.

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