Clear used to be a client of mine (I work in advertising) back under the original ownership of Steven Brill. Their business model was shoddy, as their revenue stream was compromised by the fees they had to pay airports like MCO (their launch airport, from what I remember) and the low pool of potential customers, despite having presence in major metro areas, like NYC.

Though the new ownership group doesn't have the legacy costs of the old Clear, I think the challenges they face have multiplied. I don't know what they pay out to the few airports they operate in, but back in the day, the demand was simply much lower than what their financial model required for survival.

I was a Clear member back then, and used it in LGA and CVG and it was nice to be guaranteed breezy pass-through. But I'm not sure that the incremental 5 minutes in the FF line in a 2nd tier airport like MCO, SFO or DEN would be worth the $179/year. It is to some, obviously, but I wonder if the number of those folks is enough for the Clear to break even.