Although most domestic carriers have been reluctant to partner with Registered Traveler providers, and their lobbying group, the Air Transport Association, has remained opposed to the program, providers said they are seeking ways to partner with carriers without compromising airline status programs that get elite travelers to the front of the line.
A few foreign carriers, including Air France, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have sponsored lanes in conjunction with Registered Traveler provider Verified Identity Pass. The company in July also announced a partnership with AirTran Airways—its first U.S.-based airline partner—to launch the Registered Traveler provider's Clear checkpoints at New York LaGuardia's Central Terminal.
Allison Beer, senior vice president for corporate development for Registered Traveler supplier Verified Identity Pass' Clear offering, said AirTran entered into a co-marketing relationship on a nationwide basis, and said at least two other domestic carriers are working toward launching agreements with the Registered Traveler provider—including an ATA member carrier. Verified Identity Pass would not disclose with which carriers it is nearing agreements.
AirTran president Bob Fornaro in a statement said, "Our frequent travelers value every minute of their time, and this program will help them flow through the airport with ease and cut down on the time they spend waiting in line, without compromising the multiple layers of safety and security that are built into commercial air travel today."
AirTran's domestic brethren had taken a different stance. Domestic carriers in many cases said the Registered Traveler program would compromise their front-of-the-line offerings, which give preferred access to security checkpoints for elite members of their frequent flyer programs.
Carriers likely would soften their stance as more benefits are included in the program, said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition and a liaison to corporate travel managers for Registered Traveler provider FLO.
"Early advocates of Registered Traveler felt that the airlines would resist RT if their premium lines were replaced by RT lanes that did not look so different from their own," Mitchell said. "They would lose this customer value-add for what? And in the process let a third-party interloper suddenly own that customer relationship."
Mitchell added, "All the airlines, when asked about their support for Registered Traveler, now respond, 'We're waiting for the benefits.' Another upshot to all this is by sitting on the sidelines, the airlines have been missing the opportunity to influence one of the most profound security and customer-service innovations since deregulation in 1978."
Meanwhile, representatives from FLO suggested that the Registered Traveler program could even spur additional airline demand if it could take some of the hassle away from traveling—a case it is bringing to the carriers it is courting.
The Air Transport Association said it remains to be sold on the program. In a Business Travel News op-ed last year
(BTN, April 3, 2006), Air Transport Association president James May said the organization has "no fundamental objection to a Registered Traveler program—if it significantly improves security and provides passengers with a discernable benefit." However, May noted, the program resembled a "traveler perk program," rather than a "security enhancement program," questioning whether it was a worthwhile pursuit for an overburdened Transportation Security Administration.
An ATA spokesperson last week said the position stands. "The main thrust of it is the resource issue. TSA has to focus on so many other programs, and they don't have unlimited resources. There really aren't defined benefits. If you're a Registered Traveler, you still have to take your coat off, still have to take your shoes off and still have to take your laptop out, so what's the benefit? It's really for those reasons."
Like ATA and the airlines, many corporate travel buyers said they are awaiting additional benefits to be included in the Registered Traveler program and further penetration at U.S. airports before they would consider adopting it on behalf of their travelers
(BTN, Sept. 10).However, 82 percent of 211 corporate travel manager and traveler respondents to a survey sponsored by the Business Travel Coalition and Registered Traveler supplier FLO said they would like their preferred airlines to "embrace Registered Traveler" programs.