Airport Check-in: End of Clear program hurts revenue
— -- Airports that have collected rent and a share of revenue from Verified Identity Pass, which operated Registered Traveler program Clear until last Monday, will have to scratch that income from their future budgets.
Verified Identity was the largest of three companies operating Registered Traveler, with operations at 18 airports and about 250,000 customers willing to pay up to $200 to get front-of-the-line privilege at security checkpoints.
Orlando International, which was the launch airport for the program in 2005, says it has received about $2.5 million in revenue from its contract with Clear. In the current fiscal year, it had collected about $790,000, exceeding the initial budget forecast. But the airport was uncertain about Clear's future and didn't budget money from it for the next fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1. "It was unknown," says airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell.
The airport will use the lane designated for Clear as a Black Diamond lane — used by TSA at airports to speedily process experienced travelers — or merge it with other lanes. Fennell says the airport hasn't had time to consider if it will take bids from Verified Identity's competitors for another Registered Traveler program at Orlando International.
Atlanta's Hartsfield, the world's busiest airport, shrugged off Clear's absence, saying that its reshuffling of the main checkpoint and addition of new lanes have cut down wait times for most customers. It hasn't yet decided whether to resume Registered Traveler, says spokesman John Kennedy
WHAT'S NEW
•Alaska Airlines relocated in Boston Logan from Terminal B to Terminal A on Saturday. The carrier flies non-stop to Seattle and Portland, Ore., from Boston. Terminal A is LEED certified for its environmentally friendly features.
•Delta has completed rebranding all Northwest signs at Seattle-Tacoma, an operational change that is ongoing at other airports as part of the merger of the two carriers.
All Delta flights now depart and arrive at the South Satellite.
•Chicago O'Hare and Midway airports have started "Taste of Chicago," a food fair that will last until July 5 and offer cheaper, smaller portions of the restaurants' food. Live music will also be provided.
ROUTE NEWS
•Southwest will start flying from Milwaukee's Mitchell Airport on Nov. 1. The discount carrier will fly daily non-stops to six destinations — three to Baltimore/Washington, three to Kansas City, two to Las Vegas, two to Orlando, one to Phoenix and one to Tampa.
Southwest will operate the new routes on Boeing 737 aircraft, the only model in the airline's fleet.
•British Airways will launch the first business-class-only flight between New York JFK and London City Airport starting Sept. 29. The airline says the twice-daily service will be given its "most prestigious" flight numbers, BA001 and BA002, previously used by Concorde until it stopped flying in 2003.
•Alaska Airlines says it will launch daily service between San Jose, Calif., and Austin starting Sept. 2. The carrier will operate the flights with Boeing 737-800s, accommodating 16 passengers in first class and 141 in the economy cabin.
The move follows Alaska's announcement earlier this year that it will start daily Seattle-Austin service starting Aug. 3.
•Air Europa began flying between Miami International and Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, a popular resort for Europeans. It's the only non-stop air service between Tenerife and a U.S. city, the airport says.