Fly Through Airport Security

Sometimes business travel is more about waiting in lines than being in transit. The most irksome line is typically the one at security checkpoints in busy airports, where the indignity of having to submit to pat-downs, sniffers and wands while padding around in stocking feet runs a close second to the physical discomfort of standing, lugging your belongings and stressing over whether you’ll get to your flight on time.

This is why the idea of the Registered Traveler program holds so much appeal for so many road warriors. By getting background checks and biometric identification work done ahead of time, the program whisks customers through lines to a less hectic version of the traditional security check. More than 75,000 people have signed up since the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) allowed the program to go nationwide in May 2007. The fee for speed: $99 to $125 a year.

Sure, the Registered Traveler program has also been controversial. Airlines aren’t thrilled to compete for the lane space this program takes. Others fret that would-be terrorists could register and get through the airport with a softer security check. But after a successful pilot program that began in 2004, the TSA seems to be satisfied, and companies large and small are encouraging their road warriors to sign up.

The TSA doesn’t administer the program, though. That job belongs to a handful of third-party operators that coordinate the issuing of encrypted ID cards and run the special lanes at the airport for a fee.

To register, you’ll have to divulge some personal information, permit images of your fingerprints and iris to be taken, and allow a background check. The background check will confirm--among other things--your employment, current and previous addresses and citizenship and that you are not a felon or on a terrorist watch list. You’ll need two forms of government-issued ID to begin the process. Approvals typically take about two weeks. You’ll stay a registered traveler indefinitely unless a TSA review determines that you no longer meet its security assessment criteria.

3 Minutes Vs. 30
Once you get to the Registered Traveler lanes at any of the 12 airports that currently have them (see list below), you’ll be asked to insert your ID card into a kiosk, place your finger on a reader or look into scanner and wait a few seconds. If there’s a match, you’ll get a receipt and can go on to the next phase of the security process.

You’ll still have to send your carry-ons through an X-ray machine and walk through a metal detector. You’ll have to take off your shoes, too. But the lines will be short and a concierge will be there to help with laptops, carry-ons and assorted gear. Clear, one of the major registered traveler operators, claims that its attendants cut your time at the checkpoint by about 30 percent. In Orlando, the figure is even more dramatic; the company says the maximum wait time for Clear members there is three minutes instead of the 30 minutes it takes in regular lines.

Clear enrollment is available in the following airports:

• San Jose
• San Francisco
• Orlando
• Indianapolis
• Jacksonville
• Albany (NY)
• New York/JFK
• Newark Liberty
• Cincinnati
• Little Rock
• Reno
• Westchester County (NY)

Seven additional airports--Denver, Atlanta, Huntsville, Oakland, New York/LaGuardia, Washington/Reagan National and Washington/Dulles--will be added shortly.

Besides Clear, certified Registered Traveler program operators include:

• RtGO, which is operated by Unisys, a company that specializes in biometric technologies (Unisys ran three of TSA’s five pilot programs);
• Verant Identification Systems (whose FlyBy system has been approved but not yet launched at any airport);
• Vigilant Solutions; and
• FLO. FLO has various options for its RT card. It can be a standalone option or come bundled with other services for business travelers (for a fee, naturally). Flo Gold Card benefits include worldwide emergency travel assistance, identity-fraud protection and discounts at airport concessions. Platinum Card benefits include airline lounge access, premium concierge services and enhanced credit-monitoring services. Beginning in February, members of the Hilton HHonors programs can use 35,000 loyalty points to pay for their annual FLO membership.

Because the Registered Traveler program is designed to be interoperable among vendors, anyone with a Registered Traveler smart card can use the lanes maintained by any of the operators. If only airlines were interoperable.