Tuesday Jan 22 2008
The CLEAR registered traveler program has been in existence for a few years now. Later this month Denver International Airport will be the next airport to introduce CLEAR lanes. You can become a “registered traveler” for $128. $100 for the Registered Traveler Program, and $28 to the TSA. The Denver CLEAR lines will be located at the south security area, in the main terminal.
Opinion time… You won’t find me signing up for the registered traveler program. I can certainly understand the lure of business travelers wanting to shave 30 or 40 minutes off a Monday morning airport queue. Tempting as it would be, I’ll clumsily shuffle through the maze of flimsy ropes with my nose in a book before I’ll trade my time in exchange for my biometric data.
I don’t consider myself a privacy nut. I don’t live on a compound and squirrel away my money in a tin box. I use credit cards, have multiple bank accounts, and a blog with my name publicy displayed. The government can easily find me and collect whatever info they want - but I just don’t care to volunteer more.
Until the government catches on to my secret life as an international diamond thief, I just don’t feel they merit reason to keep my fingerprints and iris scan on file. Nor should a private company. Should domestic U.S. flights ever require this type of scrutiny you can meet me for lunch at my new loft in Vancouver. No wait make that Mérida - I’ll be staying at the beautiful Luz.
I like this description by a commenter on this blog:
“A program to create a database of biometric and background info, funded by the people themselves”
Has anyone become a registered traveler and use CLEAR frequently? Even though I’m completely against it for myself I’d love to hear stories of passengers who find it justifiable. I bite my toungue every time when I witness the TSA inconsistencies from airport to airport, so paying $128 for such nonsense to be “out of sight out of mind” would certainly be tempting…
If you are interested in giving your biometric information to a private company sanctioned by the TSA - the Registered Traveler Program has offices at the Denver Tech Center Hyatt and downtown at the Grand Hyatt. They’re open from 7am to 7pm.
An aside annoyance: WHY do writers and companies insist on calling Denver International Airport “DIA” when listing airport codes? The International Civil Aviation Organization’s code for Denver is DEN. The ONLY other name its ever had was “DVX,” which was it’s temporary assignment during construction, before Stapleton relinquished the DEN code. However the CLEAR website, just like this Time Magazine Article I rebutted, list Denver as “DIA.” DIA is nothing more than a local moniker used to abbreviate Denver International Airport. I am sending CLEAR an e-mail in hopes they’ll correct their website. (The website that I’ll probably never look at again.)
Rant time over. In other news Dex left ANOTHER two phone books at my doorstep last Saturday. This time the “compact size” Hey 33% less wasteful! Thanks Ken Clark.
And tomorrow I’ll have a review of the Asus EEE PC. This full functioning micro size computer is the ultimate travel tool. And it’s not much bigger than the Radio Shack “Mr. Professor” I had as a kid.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I think it’s amazing how willing people (especially in America) are to give up their personal freedoms, privacy, and rights to the government.
Nobody trusts the government with their tax dollars, but gives in to every asinine security screening; phone taps, and massive databases that contain records of anything imaginable.
This information is sold and used as the owner (read: not you) sees fit.
And for what?
Enhanced security or better quality of life? I don’t think so. Airplane/port security is terrible wasting millions of dollars on things like thermal neutron analyzers, confiscating bottles of water…it’s all a joke and goes against the principals on which this nation was founded.
There are few laws guaranteeing the protection of citizens’ personal information…all in the name of security.
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
-Ben Franklin
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Fox that quote fits our current situation perfectly. Furthermore the Registered Traveler Program serves as a distraction to the absurd screening process as it currently exists. As concerned citizens we should collectively focus on THAT - rather than sucking it up and paying our way around it. Salon’s Patrick Smith does a far better job analyzing this mess than I ever could.
I don’t think the concept of recognizing a “regular traveler” is a bad thing - if implemented logically. After all types like me point out the ridiculousness of patting down grannies and five year olds in the name of “equal treatment.” So perhaps one could submit their travel itineraries based on airline records? United Airlines already knows everywhere I’ve flown in the past six years and my scheduled future trips. Isn’t THAT database proof enough that I, James, am a frequent, regular, and REGISTERED traveler? Why can’t I volunteer THAT info if I choose, along with my ID and passport, rather than an IRIS SCAN for god’s sakes?
I just don’t believe that a Registed Traveler Program 1) Should need my iris scan to process me, especially when a passport suffices for traveling anywhere in the world. And 2) that we should have to PAY for the privilege.
Or, better yet, have screeners that make independent assessments rather than blanket decisions based on what sharp pointy objects are currently acceptable or not.
An update: I received an e-mail back from Cindy Rosenthal at Flyclear.com regarding the DEN vs DIA error. She is correcting on the website. Maybe she would be kind enough to offer her insider’s view…
January 24th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
A friend and travel-writing colleague, for reasons that made sense to her but not to me, did register for DIA/DEN’s Registered Traveler Program. She said the registration went smoothly but I don’t believe has actually gone through the speedier screening process yet.
I’m with Foxnomad and James in not wanting to 1) spend $128 on this process, 2) give irrelevant personal information to some private company entrusted, by the same government that hired the likes of Blackwater as an adjunct to our Iraqi adventure, 3) help create another layer of bureaucracy to smooth out the bumpy path the TSA has created for air travelers.
Claire @ http://travel-babel.blogspot.som
January 25th, 2008 at 12:57 am
[…] and your background and biometric data. The pending implementation of CLEAR in Denver sparked some interesting comments between ::future gringo:: and I. I think it’s amazing how willing people (especially in America) […]