Anyone who ever reads this journal knows I spend quite a lot of time traveling. I know many many airlines, airports, and airport lounges far too well.

So, I'm always looking for ways to optimize my travel experiences. Some of the things that I value when I travel are comfort, customer service, and low stress situations. Expediency is good as well, but I'd much rather spend a few extra minutes if it means traveling in relaxed comfort. Running through airports, scrambling to make connecting flights, and such are NOT on my short list of fun things to do. They're not even on my VERY LONG list of fun things to do.

So, along came CLEAR, also known as the TSA's "registered traveler program". Now, although I don't mind spending a few extra minutes in the name of comfort, standing in long airport security queues is definitely NOT what I meant. So, when I first heard that CLEAR was coming to my home airports (Dulles and Reagan National), I was all over it. I gladly forked over the US$28 registration fee and the US$100 annual fee to give this new program a fair shake.

I've now used CLEAR three times, as I sit here in San Francisco airport bound for Osaka, Japan. Although 3 falls far short of a sufficient sample population, my 3 experiences have been in 3 different airports. So, I figured I'd drop a few short notes here about my preliminary experiences. I'll post something more substantive once I've been using the program for 6 months or so, so the program itself has a fair amount of time to go through its own startup pains and such. (Note, too, that I'll also describe the exhaustive registration process later.)

1. My first CLEAR experience was in Reagan National, flying up to New York City for a couple days' business. The main security line was quite short that day, but I thought I'd give it a shot in any case. I was greeted by a CLEAR agent who verified my ID, CLEAR card, and boarding pass. She walked me to the CLEAR terminal where I inserted my CLEAR card and provided a fingerprint scan to validate my identity. Once passed, I was greeted by another CLEAR agent who again validated my ID, CLEAR card, and boarding pass. She walked me through the x-ray and metal detector security screening process, "helping" me remove my laptop and such. Overall score: slower than regular security line and far less convenient.
2. This time, I was flying here to San Francisco from Dulles. The mid-afternoon security line at Dulles was already relatively long, but they do have a "premium passengers" line that is usually a bit shorter than the one the unwashed masses take. I went to the premium line, but did not see any mention of CLEAR, so I asked the clerk. He directed me to the CLEAR line downstairs. Odd...but what the heck, I went downstairs and there was the line--only, it was shared with flight crew, airport employees, and CLEAR travelers. (It was the "service entrance" by any other name.) The flight crews seemed to visibly take a dim view of us in the CLEAR line, who got to jump to the front of the queue. But I got through it. The ID checking was similar to the one at Reagan, but I only had to present my ID once.
3. Third time's the charm, right? Here in the San Francisco international terminal, I tried it again. Here, the security queue was quite significant already. There is a CLEAR lane to the side of the regular lanes. I was the only person in the CLEAR "line". Same ID checking; same fingerprint scanning. Then the CLEAR agent took me to a separate table where I removed my laptop, jacket, and shoes. She then put my bags and bins in the x-ray queue ahead of the rest of the passengers and directed me to a metal detector ahead of the rest of the passengers. I clearly (no pun intended...) got through the airport security in record time, and it was a far less hectic process than the one we're all used to.

Even us "elite" CLEAR folks still have to go through metal detectors and run our stuff through x-ray scanners. That's just fine in my book. But, if SFO's process is any indicator, the process is getting pretty smooth. I hope that Dulles and National follow suit in the convenience factor I experienced here.

Now, I have to say that I had an uneasy feeling "jumping" the queue in front of the flight crews yesterday and all the other passengers today. But, I suppose I do that all the time when I use the United 1K check-ins and such.

So, while I will stop short of calling the program an unmitigated success, I see some promise in it, at least from my perspective. Things that simplify my life, reduce my stress levels, and/or save me time are a good thing. CLEAR seems like it might achieve all three, but I'll withhold final judgment until the system has had time to get into a steady state of operations.

Cheers,

Ken