Originally Posted by
seigex
I wasn't confusing GE and Clear, I was saying TSA should go fully biometric like GE, but even if they did, they would still charge and provide a bio and regular line for people who don't sign up for bio. I don't know Clear is that' much different than paying for precheck, which lets you bypass post-9/11 security theater, or different from airlines providing expedited security (like Delta One at LAX -
Delta OneŽ At LAX). Federal agencies let private companies handle gov't business all the time. JMHO
Clear is very different from precheck because it is a private company. Also precheck makes a lot of sense. They do a background check on you, and if you pass (and only if you pass) they determine that you are low risk and therefore subject to lighter security. You may call it "security theater" but that's not how they see it. You are not paying to skip the line, you are paying for them to check you out before (pre check you if you will) to see if you are a security risk or not. Global entry is more or less the same concept, except for customs and immigration instead of security.