Flo readies to take over RTGO Pass, pledges new perks
Dan Luzadder, Travel Weekly, 4/21/2008 (excerpted)
Flo Corp., which is preparing to take over the Registered Traveler program of Unisys Corp., known as the RTGO Pass, is planning to market a host of bundled services to those who sign up to be cardholders under the airport security program for pre-screened travelers.
Flo Vice President Luke Thomas said the new benefits, which are available to new members on the company's Web site, range from traveler assistance to travel insurance, airport lounge access, travel discounts, identity theft protection, nontravel opportunities and more. Cardholders, he said, can opt for various services according to their needs.
Private vendors will provide the services under a partnership agreement with Flo, Thomas said.
"Once we have completed the transfer of ownership [of RTGO] in a few weeks, we will send out welcome kits to current RTGO members, inviting them to sign up for the premium services," Thomas said.
He said that when signing up, new members would be given access to a secure area of the company Web site to select services.
Flo expects to complete its acquisition of RTGO by the end of the month.
RTGO operates a single Registered Traveler lane in Reno, Nev. A spokesman for Flo said the RTGO cards would work at all other Registered Traveler lanes in the U.S.
The builder of the majority of those Registered Traveler lanes is Verified Identity Pass, which operates as Clear Pass. The company has built Registered Traveler security lanes at 15 airports and announced last week that a 16th would be built at Salt Lake City.
So far, Clear Pass has enrolled more than 140,000 members, who provide fingerprints and iris scan information and submit to background checks by the Transportation Security Administration.
Steven Brill, owner of Verified Identity Pass, has questioned whether Flo will complete its acquisition of RTGO.
"Flo Corp. itself isn't allowed by TSA to accept travelers into the program, so added benefits is all they have to sell right now," he said.
Thomas said Flo was continuing to make enrollments primarily through corporations that want to provide the pass for their business travelers. He said the enrollments were endorsed under Unisys' TSA authorization until that authority is transferred to Flo once all regulatory and financing issues are satisfied and the acquisition is completed.