Survey: Registered Traveler program still of little interest to flyers
Dan Luzadder, Travel Weekly, 4/9/2007
A survey released last week by Deloitte & Touche USA found that airline travelers are showing little interest in the newly launched Registered Traveler program.
Deloitte, which conducted the survey through its Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure sector, found that 61% of those questioned were unfamiliar with Registered Traveler, and that 83% said they were not interested in enrolling.
That could be disappointing news for the private providers now signing up members or installing equipment at airports under public-private initiatives with the Transportation Security Administration.
But Steven Brill, whose company, Verified Identity Pass, has been a moving force behind the prescreening system, said the survey missed the mark.
The TSA created Registered Traveler to take pressure off existing security lanes by offering expedited security checks to passengers holding Registered Traveler ID cards.
Before they can get those cards, travelers have to verify their identity through biometric identification, such as fingerprints or eye scans, and submit to background investigations. Private providers must pass rigorous screening themselves to qualify to operate the less-crowded security lanes.
Brill faulted the Deloitte survey for the way it was conducted, saying it had targeted the wrong people.
"They don't distinguish between the people who are at an airport at any given day," Brill said. "We have said before that the market is only 8 to 9 million and that we would hope to have about 30% of that. They [Deloitte] seem to assume 200 million potential registered travelers. And that is nonsense..."
The program allows private, for-profit providers like Brill's company to operate security lanes at airports for Registered Traveler card holders. The Flo Alliance, a Registered Traveler effort by Saflink and partners, and Unisys are also involved in the program.
In Deloitte's announcement of the survey last week, Adam Weissenberg, a partner and sector leader of Deloitte's Tourism, Hospitality & Leisure division, said privacy concerns could, in part, be to blame for a lack of interest, "since 75% of survey respondents expressed concern about privacy issues related to the program."
He said that for the program to succeed, "the Transportation Security Administration, airports and program operators must reassure travelers that their privacy and identities are safeguarded and that enrolling in the program could be a solution to the long lines."
Brill said it was unrealistic to expect widespread interest in Registered Traveler, since most Americans fly only once or twice a year, making it more time-consuming to sign up and be prescreened than to endure possible long lines at security checkpoints.
He said only frequent flyers would be interested in the programs.
Brill predicted that the survey "won't have any influence," adding, "It's silly. Why would you, if you're supposed to be expert in the travel industry, lead with a headline on your press release saying 83% of travelers are uninterested in a program that is explicitly for frequent flyers?"
Responding to Brill's criticism, Weissenberg said the survey did note that 70% of frequent flyers were familiar with the program. He also said that in response to additional questions not directly addressed in the survey results, about 12% of frequent flyers said they had already enrolled or planned to, and 36% of respondents said they would enroll if their company paid the fee.
"This was just a part of a broader travel survey that we did," Weissenberg said, "and we found this part interesting. I would agree with Steve Brill that infrequent travelers are less likely to be interested.
"We're not trying to discredit what his company is doing. This was just the response we found at airports at this point in time. It is not something that people are dying to join."
Weissenberg also said Deloitte had focused more on privacy concerns that had surfaced in results.
"There is still some reluctance by travelers, myself included, about giving up personal information and how it might be used," he said.
Weissenberg, who lives in New Jersey, said he had not yet signed up for Registered Traveler himself but probably would when it is offered at Newark's Liberty Airport.
Newark is among the airports where Brill's company will operate Registered Traveler service.