NEW YORK — The private sector is increasingly playing a key role in the evolution of U.S. trusted-traveler programs, and that is true of both the two major government initiatives and Clear, the private company that uses security technology certified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Last week's announcement of the partnership between the DHS and Loews Hotels & Resorts was just the latest in a series of private-sector partnerships, which are expected to grow in coming months and years.
The federal government's two programs are Global Entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program, and PreCheck, a program operated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Once preapproved, by undergoing a security vetting process, Global Entry-certified travelers pass through customs simply by using a kiosk, thus bypassing the line waiting to be cleared by a customs officer. Membership, which is good for five years, is available at 30 airports and is open to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent U.S. residents, Dutch citizens and Mexican nationals.
The CBP is also testing the program with the U.K. and Germany.
Members of the TSA's PreCheck program bypass standard security lines and pass through separate screening machines. Unless selected for random checks, they don't have to remove their shoes or overcoats or take their computers out of their cases. The TSA works closely with airlines on this program.
(Members of Nexus and Sentri, established programs for crossing land borders between the U.S. and Mexico and land borders and airports with Nexus kiosks between the U.S. and Canada, also qualify for PreCheck.)
The third program, Clear, is entirely private. Clear, which went into bankruptcy in 2009, has been resurrected by a group of investors and is now operating in four airports: Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Orlando and San Francisco.
Hotel brands have been the first private-sector players to partner with the secure-traveler programs.
Last week, Loews announced it will subsidize the $100 Global Entry application fee for the 2,500 platinum-level members of its YouFirst Rewards loyalty program.
Last summer, Clear began a partnership with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which offers gold and platinum members of its SPG loyalty program a free six-month Clear membership.
In its earlier iteration, Clear partnered with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, which offered tens of thousands of Diamond and Platinum members of the Hyatt Gold Passport loyalty program free membership in Clear for a year, starting in 2006.
Though all of these programs have experienced startup pains, each is beginning, thanks in large part to private-sector partners, to achieve critical mass with frequent travelers.
"Collaboration with our private-sector partners is integral to our mission," DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said in announcing the Loews partnership in New York last week.
Passengers have now passed through Global Entry's kiosks more than 3 million times, according to the CBP. What's more, Global Entry members automatically qualify for the TSA's PreCheck program.
One limitation to PreCheck, however, is that travelers qualify for the program through a single airline and thus can only use their PreCheck perks when flying with that airline. In other words, if a traveler is accepted into PreCheck as an American AAdvantage member, he or she will have to go through the general line when flying on Delta.
Participating carriers include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways. Each recommends members of its elite programs for TSA PreCheck, which is currently in operation at 26 airports. The 3 millionth passenger passed through special PreCheck lines Sept. 25.
Clear, a biometric-based airport security program certified by the DHS as a Qualified Anti-terrorism Technology, is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Its members skip the lengthy security line but go through the same security machines as all other passengers, although Clear staff offers a concierge-style service to help with removing shoes, pulling laptops out of their cases or putting 3-in-1 liquids through machines.
Membership is $179 per year, spouses can join for $50 and children traveling with parents who are Clear members pass through Clear lines for free. The company grandfathered in the roughly 200,000 members who still had time left on their memberships with the original company.
Members have passed through Clear lines 750,000 times in the past 21 months. Only two airports participated in its first year of operation, but the program added San Francisco in May and Dallas/Fort Worth in June.
Clear is a small player when compared with its DHS and CBP counterparts, a situation that marks a shift from just a few years ago when private-sector programs such as Clear, FLO Corp. and Vigilant Solutions were the only games in town.
The TSA ran a two-year Registered Traveler pilot program with those companies, which ended in July 2008. Since then, Clear, the only private company still operating in the space today, has survived by securing partnerships with airlines and airports and by meeting the government's data security standards.
The DHS has clearly committed its resources to trusted-traveler programs in a big way, but it still relies heavily on the private sector to execute them.
Its partnership with Loews is expected to be the first of many private-sector partnerships. David Aguilar, deputy commissioner of the CBP, said the agency is "doing everything we can to partner up" with other players in the travel industry.
The government initiatives are part of a broader movement to improve the air travel experience. In announcing the Loews-DHS partnership last week, government officials made it clear that security remains their top priority but that they also recognize the importance of a quality traveler experience.
"We take seriously our commitment to ensuring the safety and security of passengers coming to and traveling through the U.S., while at the same time, helping facilitate lawful travel, trade and tourism," Napolitano said.