Monday, June 22, 2009

RIP: Fly Clear Closes Shop


One of the worst investment ideas in history.

"Clear Lanes Are No Longer Available.

At 11:00 p.m. PST on June 22, 2009, Clear will cease operations. Clear’s parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations. "

Clear was operating in 20 airports around the country, San Jose and Oakland among them, but further expansion never took off.

And with the recession reducing air travel, lines are shorter than they used to be.Clear has yet to announce how it will handle its 165,000 members.

Air travelers who purchased the Clear card to speed passage through airport security have learned that the program is no more.The four-year old venture ceased operations at airports across the country Monday night.Passengers paid as much as $199 dollars for the Clear card, which was sold as a way to "fly through airport security" because the card holder had been pre-screened.


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The airport lines are not as long these days. Just get to the airport earlier you lazy bums.

Anonymous said...

Great service. Too bad my membership is now obsolete.

Steve Haag said...

I find it hard to believe that they couldn't make a long-term run - should have priced the service higher and worked more with corporate customers - their current customer mix would have paid more.

They could have waited out the recession - their customers would have continued paying to avoid even today's "short lines" (still bad in some airports). Their real value would come as they optimized, expanded and diversified their services.

Sounds like they are now sitting on the IP - will be interesting to see if anyone else makes a run in the next 5 years. Maybe they will sell the IP to the govt??

Unknown said...

They were just trying to sell me on buying Clear for a Fathers Day Present! I renewed in December, and am pretty sure I am out of luck in getting my money back. More important, who is the custodian of all of that very personal information they have?

Anonymous said...

You can thank the great folks at Lockheed Martin in Orlando for most of the fiasco here. Screwed up software, bad service, insecure data. Who can ask for more?

Also you should worry a LOT about what they have done with your personal information. I know all about the place and would not buy a card, and I was right. They deserve a great big class action lawsuit, especially for the missing laptop in San Francisco.

Anonymous said...

I'm really pissed.

Anonymous said...

I smell like a class action law suit or small claims court since neither Clear or Verified Identity Pass Inc have yet to go bankrupt. I sented an email to them to remind them that they are still liable.

Unknown said...

Fly Clear Class Action at http://www.flyclearclassaction.com

The Brand Law Firm Located in Orlando, Florida will be filing a lawsuit against Fly Clear and Verified Identity Pass, Inc. on behalf of consumers that have purchased “Clear Card” services from Fly Clear. Clear Card is a service sold to travelers that expedites the security screening process at airports, and costs approximately $199 per year. Clear Card was in use at airports such as Albany, Denver, San Francisco, and Orlando International Airport. According to its website, Fly Clear has ceased its operations as of June 22, 2009, and its Clear Lanes are no longer available. According to the Clear Card website, Fly Clear will not issue refunds to consumers.

If you have purchased a subscription to Fly Clear’s Clear Card services, please contact the attorneys at 877-407-Brand or fill out the contact form on http://www.flyclearclassaction.com