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.