DENVER, CO – A 34-year-old male traveler was observed using the Clear security line even though the TSA PreCheck line had only 4 people in at the time. Witnesses report overhearing the passenger mumble, “I paid for this service so I’m gonna use it!”
The man, who was traveling with a coworker, was apparently in Denver on business and starting his trip home last Wednesday when the incident occurred.
According to witnesses, Phil Adams was faced with a choice as he approached the airport security checkpoint: use the TSA Precheck line which had only 4 passengers in it at the time, or use the Clear checkpoint which was, of course, completely empty.
According to his coworker who was interviewed for this story, Phil had spent the $179 annual fee on the membership but had yet to use it, despite having it for over 5 months.
However, as luck would have it, the machine had difficulty identifying Phi’s iris during the scan and he was forced to use the fingerprint retina scanner after fumbling around for a bit.
When he arrived on the other side of the security checkpoint he was met by his coworking who was waiting for him, bags in tow.
This is literally the worst travel article I have ever read
Clear is a solution deeply in search of a problem. They have spent $100s of millions of dollars on lobbyists and political contributions to get into airports and even though their product has no reason to exist “they’re gonna use it” and sell it to people who don’t know what’s going on.
I have Clear and I don’t have Precheck, so I would have done the same.
Clear, when it works, works well and saves time. It alleviates the need to pull out and present id. It eliminates the fear of misplacing or losing ones’ drivers license. Unless, of course, you are “randomly” selected….
When the machine is being finicky or plain doesn’t work, Clear is huge waste of time and requires more effort with their employees being poorly trained or illiterate as to normal screening procedures, sometimes helpful and other times, not.
Overall, functionality is probably a 7. Clear (ly) need to do a better job of employee training and keeping their machine working. Then, there are the recurring billing issues….
not having to pull my license out in the stress of getting through security is a serious value add for me. I haven’t yet lost my license, but I have definitely come close and I have often put it away in the incorrect spot many times. Using clear eliminates the need to pull my license out, and therefore reduces the chances of making that mistake.
So if he decided to use the clear line it’s his right.,How many people were in the regular line, maybe his buddy should have used that line instead of precheck. I have had clear for a few years now. In a few occasions I do not see the need to use it, but prefer not to reach for my id so I still use clear.
Other times, I pass massive precheck lines, completely worth the investment.
Stupid article. People do this all the time. Who cares?
Lee – is that you? During our last “session “, we talked about this. You should not criticize yourself. Remember to practise: “I love to write, even though it’s JUST a blog”. Please use code word “revenue management” for a 10% discount on our next session.
lol