A new bill, the first of its kind in the U.S., would ban security screening company Clear from operating at California airports as lawmakers take aim at companies that let consumers pay to pass through security ahead of other travelers.
Sen. Josh Newman, a California Democrat and the sponsor of the legislation, said Clear effectively lets wealthier people skip in front of passengers who have been waiting to be screened by Transportation Security Administration agents.
“It’s a basic equity issue when you see people subscribed to a concierge service being escorted in front of people who have waited a long time to get to the front of TSA line,” Newman told CBS MoneyWatch. “Everyone is beaten down by the travel experience, and if Clear escorts a customer in front of you and tells TSA, ‘Sorry, I have someone better,’ it’s really frustrating.”
If passed, the bill would bar Clear, a private security clearance company founded in 2010, from airports in California. Clear charges members $189 per year to verify passengers’ identities at airports and escort them through security, allowing them to bypass TSA checkpoints. The service is in use at roughly 50 airports across the U.S., as well as at dozens of sports stadiums and other venues.
The alternative is air travel goes back to the old days when every ticket is first class and a large segment of society can’t afford to fly.
The alternative is we break up the monopoly, ban stock buybacks, pass minimum standards of comfort, and suggest to the airlines that if they are short on cash they cut executive salaries.
There is no excuse for it. I have flown outside the US twice the past 9 months alone and will fly at least 3 more times abroad before Dec of this year. Consistently the US domestic is the most awful way to fly. Flown on airlines that are very much 3rd world where I had more space and better quality airline food all for less money.
Also the Germans got it right. Loaded up last passenger? Close the doors and start taxing. None of this bullshit about everyone must have sat down for 45 minutes before the plane moves.
The third world airlines are generally subsidized by the local governments to maintain connectivity.
The EU deregulated its airline industry about two decades after the USA and it is going down the same path. Some flag carriers have gone out of business and the market is becoming saturated with low cost airlines that make Southwest feel like luxury in comparison. Even then, the EU has benefits that the USA doesn’t have like no fuel tax and plenty of airports in comparison to the USA.
Just do whatever needs to happen to fix it. I don’t care. I shouldn’t be in misery flying from coast to coast and in luxury flying from Vietnam to Thailand. It’s bullshit that the country that invented air travel has airlines this bad.