On April 16, 2010, Alclear LLC acquired the Clear Registered Traveler program in a bankruptcy auction for $6 million, and now Clear is all set for an expedited launch with the backing and support of the kind of big names who will ensure it doesn’t go belly-up again. 

Clear Card

Clear offers biometric identification kiosks in dedicated airport security lanes to help registered travelers quickly get through checkpoints.

Back in June 2009, there was a big fuss over the shutdown of Flyclear, the company which ran Clear. Flyclear’s parent company Verified Identity Pass Inc. went bankrupt after being unable to make payments on a $32 million loan.

Alclear LLC – the new owner of Clear, is itself owned by an investment firm called Algood Holdings run by Caryn Seidman-Becker and Kenneth L. Cornick.

Both Seidman-Becker and Cornick are formerly of Arience Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund which shut down in Dec 2008.

Clear will also be based in New York, and its Board of Directors now includes Michael Chertoff – former Homeland Security Secretary, Robert LaPenta - chairman and chief executive of L-1 Identity Solutions, and Craig Coy - former head of the Massachusetts Port Authority, operator of Boston’s Logan International Airport.

L-1 Identity Solutions is a Stamford, CT based biometrics company with previous connections to Clear – they supplied the kiosks and technology to Verified Identity Pass Inc.

The assets acquired by Alclear include the brand name, the kiosks and the customer database, but the contracts with the 16 airports that the old Clear had are not valid anymore.

This is where Michael Chertoff and Craig Coy being on the board will come in handy to quickly line up a bunch of airports offering Clear. Add to this the investment banking background of CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker and President & CFO Kenneth  Cornick, and the technological support from Robert LaPenta’s company.

It’s clear they don’t want to make the same mistakes made by FlyClear and Verified Identity Pass Inc, and the new Clear will be run much more professionally.

Alclear says it will honor any remaining membership committments from last year. Clear was being used by over 160,000 customers when it shutdown last year. There will be no cash refunds, though.

Another big worry for Clear’s old customers - What happens to their personal data? Alclear says it will be contacting everyone whose data is present in the system, and their data will be wiped if they do not want to reactivate the membership. 

Existing members can also contact the new management via the www.flyclear.com website – where it says “Clear is Back,” and they’ll keep you updated on progress. Clear is scheduled for a relaunch in the fall.

As for renewals and new memberships, Clear will be offering an unlimited use annual membership for $179. This is down from the earlier $199. Also, members can pay an extra $50 and get a family plan.

Related posts:-
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Who Replaces Clear Airport Security Service Remains Unclear
DHS Proposes Permanent Global Entry Program

FlyClear, a New York based company which charged annual fees for clear card services to help it’s members get through TSA Airport Security checkpoints faster, ceased operations earlier this week.

Clear Card from FlyClear

Apparently, Clear’s parent company – Verified Identity Pass Inc., was “unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.” The Clear Lanes being operated at 20 airports nationwide, and being used by the over 260,000 people who had signed on with FlyClear, suddenly closed on Monday without any prior intimation.

The service had an annual price tag of $199, and the company says it’s not in a position to offer any refund. And it looks like the company is closed for good, with no plans for any comeback. They haven’t filed for bankruptcy protection, and they’ve wiped all the data from the airport verification kiosks.

FlyClear was founded in 2003 by entrepreuner Steven Brill, and the program took off at Orlando International Airport in 2005. The Clear Lanes at Orlando alone have seen over 1 million passengers pass through. For frequent and elite travelers stressed out by the post-9/11 security measures and extra-long lines at Airport Security checkpoints, Clear provided a much-needed service – A Clear Card with a biometric chip issued after a TSA vetting which whisked you past the bottlenecked checkpoints.

Inspite of the obvious need for such a service – and this is probably one of the main reason for Clear’s demise – fact is that neither the TSA nor the airlines ever fully embraced it, and they weren’t really able to expand the service and make it a commonly available facility at all airports.

And last year in May, a laptop containing information about 33k Clear users and applicants went missing from the Clear office at San Francisco International Airport. The TSA went ballistic and revoked Clear’s Registered Traveler status. 10 days later, the laptop mysteriously turns up in the same spot where it went missing, and prettty soon, things were back to normal.

So what happens to all the data now - The fingerprints, iris images, photos, names, addresses, credit card numbers and other personal information? Clear is promising that all personal data on record will be deleted and members notified in a final email missive from the company.

But they haven’t deleted it all yet, and a statement on their website states that the information provided can only be used by companies for the TSA’s Registered Traveler program. So they could keep it on file until they’re able to ‘sell’ the information in accordance with these rules.

And now, with all their assets will be up for grabs and likely to be put on sale, it only makes it harder for the company to make good on it’s promise to keep the data secure.

Either way, Clear is gone, and there’s no fast lane for a quarter of a million people who forked out $199 a year.