From a FTer's Twitter:

http://web21.twitpic.com/img/1560916...8d8-scaled.jpg

I'm shocked. Interesting enough, I was flying 2 days after they shut down and I thought from the way how it looked they were never coming back.

But I must say their website is not very useful IMO. Doesn't tell me anything about age restrictions (other than children can go through free w/ a paid member) and they must mention on every page they are going to DEN in October and MCO the month after. Would also like to see pricing info too...

Just got an email from CLEAR. It appears to be the same one some people received months ago, but this time with a deadline of October 3 to opt out of having my personal information transferred to Alclear.

Since I've already opted out, in writing and by phone (see my post above), it really irritates me that I'm receiving this. But I'm going to opt out in writing again, and pay to send it by a method that requires a signature - again, because if they keep this up, I have a feeling I'm going to want proof for the class action lawsuit I see in their future.

My information should have been removed from their system long ago. There is no way I would trust these chuckleheads with anything at this point.

If you are telling me Clear lets you bypass all or nearly all security checks it would be worth it.

I do agree it seems like a protection racket. But so is the TSA fee. If Clear lets me go right through security without stopping, I would pay big bucks for it.

I think from the mix of posts we can see why Clear failed and why it is likely to fail again. Most airports that have a First Class or Frequent Flyer lane. If Clear offers no advantage over this lane, then hardly anybody will join. Regular travelers already use the speedier lanes, and infrequent fliers would see little value in buying this service.

Airports like JFK, LAX, DFW have many points of entry, so, Clear would have to set up shop in many places. Expensive for them to operate. It's not like they want to pay for each terminal but they have to, to make it worthwhile to customers.

If Clear is no better than the First Class or "Diamond Medallion" line, then, what is the point?

I just don't know enough about the service. I only know, I would pay to not have to stop and strip for the TSA people/

Clear fought hard to open a lane in ATL, only for it to fail. At about the same time, the DL elite lanes were closed-- for the largest hub of the largest airline in the world! Now we have even less than we had before Clear was here.

All depends on which airport you're in. At MSP, if you hit a heavy traffic stretch, the FC/Medallion line is jammed too. Spent nearly 30 minutes in it the past two or three times I flew out in the 8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m. block.

As for ATL....sheesh, what will it take to get (and keep) some decent Medallion lanes there? Seems the system changes every time I fly through (every 3 months or so).

Personally, I'd love to see those black "Expert Traveler" lanes expanded, then monitored. Would help considerably in a number of airports. No matter what lane I'm in, there's always some "sleeper" ahead of me who still thinks it's okay to tote huge bottles of water and fourteen types of liquid through in their carryon.

A couple of years ago I was killing some time outside security in DEN (wasn't able to utilize FlyNow, the NW version of SDC) and watched some people go through the Clear line. Made me think about joining.

Two days later a Clear employee lost the laptop containing identities of 30,000 Clear members - and the data was not encrypted. Was very glad I didn't join.

The customer data issue on the lost laptop would be inexcusable for an e-commerce company that just had CC info. The data should never exist in the open.

For the Clear outfit (who had a LOT more detailed information) to do this meant that they were outright lying about keeping data secure.

It will be significantly harder to make a buck now that security is not as bad as 3 years ago, and they already have a black eye.

Perhaps they will be selling personal marketing data to make it work?

Essentially it was a $150 a year "butt to the front of the line" club. You still went through the metal detector and had your carry on bags x-rayed. There was talk of allowing those that had been "Cleared" the privilege of not removing our shoes but Clear went belly up before it could be implemented. Orlando (Delta) closed the elite line when Clear came in and refused to re-instate it when they left. If I only traveled through Orlando even once a month I probably would not pay for it but I average 1.25 trips through there each week so the fee amortized over all those trips is not too bad. It saved me an average of 15 to 20 minutes each time I use it. YMMV :)

In that case, I would pay it. I hate standing in line. For anything. Airport TSA is horrible. But it is also horrible for me to wait for someone to buy a bottle of water with a credit card at the news stand. ;)

If I could jump to the head of the line, I would pay it.

But it seems to me that they can't survive. $150 a year, 30,000 members = $4.5 million. Assuming $65,000 a year to put 2 people at 50 terminals, that's $3.2 million not counting any other costs.

If, however, they simply facilitated some kind of program on behalf of TSA, kind of like the Global Entry/NEXUS program that basically pre-cleared you as non-risk and gave you an ID card similar to that of the TSA (not identical, but just as you said a "cut the line" card) they might be able to eke out a profit by letting TSA do all the management, they simply facilitate the pre-screening and identification etc..

Come to think of it, what I described is a lot like the Global Entry/Nexus program. You get screened in advance but you still have to clear customs (or in this case pass a detector) but you don't have to wait in the regular line with the casual traveler. I'd pay for it.

Great argument. I am a person that doesn't do an enormous amount of flying, but I would like expedited security. Something I would highly consider buying is a daily pass. It would be valid for a one time use. I'm not sure if it would be profitable for them but it is something that I would definitely consider buying if available. DL does one day passes with the SC, and I imagine something similar would work with CLEAR.

CLEAR cannot come backfast enough for me to MCO.... It is worth every penny just to be able to bring back consistent timing at the TSA checkpoint here.....

Sign me up NOW!!!!

Clear is coming back and relaunching as Cloudy

It seems like the only place where Clear would be even possibly a benefit would be MCO. ATL security used to be horrible for everyone but that is no longer the case.

Now that SkyPriority has become more organized and enforced (especially at ATL), I have found security lines not to be a very big issue.

It also disturbs me that all of this confidential data from the original Clear is still lingering around waiting to be sold to the new Clear.:eek:

I'll pass.:td:

I'm with those who would join solely to avoid the lines at MCO.