Registered Traveler programs will be in place at 20 to 30 U.S. airports by the end of this year, and 50 airports by the end of 2008, predict executives from FLO Corp., one of five RT companies vying to capture their share of this burgeoning industry.
At the National Business Travel Association International Convention & Exposition this week, FLO (Fast Lane Option) officials announced that the Kirkland, Wash.-based company has signed an agreement with corporate services company HRG North America to provide HRG’s customers with RT services.
The leading player in the RT field right now is Verified Identity Pass. Airports participating in its Clear RT program include those in San Jose, Calif.; Cincinnati; Indianapolis; and Orlando, as well as New York-JFK, with various airline partners, and Newark, N.J.'s, Terminal B. It has also reached agreements with airports in Little Rock, Ark., and Albany, N.Y. FLO has an agreement to launch lanes at Huntsville, Ala., International Airport, while Unisys Corp. has launched RT lanes at Reno-Tahoe (Nev.) International Airport.
While FLO and Unisys entered the RT arena as competitors, they are now pursuing new business as partners, according to Fred Fischer, senior vice president, strategic sales at FLO.
Fischer said the partnership makes sense because FLO, which is working on RT solutions with companies like Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase, Johnson Controls, as well as Unisys, has developed a “strong platform” from which it can market RT, while Unisys is the “unquestioned technology leader” when it comes to RT.
The RFP process is in place for programs at airports such as Reagan and Dulles in Washington, D.C; Denver; San Francisco; Atlanta; Oakland, Calif.; and Baltimore. “By the end of the year, 35 percent of the [air traveler] market will be in play,” said Fischer. “Given that, there is very little doubt about the ability of this program to move forward.”
