By DDN |
16 years ago |
10/16/2007

FLO Corp., a former subsidiary of Saflink set up to be a service provider under the Registered Traveler (RT) program, is acquiring the rtGO Registered Traveler business of Unisys [UIS]. Unisys operates its rtGO service at a single airport, Reno/Tahoe International in Nevada while FLO has been selected by Huntsville International Airport in Alabama to be the RT service provider there. For FLO, the deal gives it a technical solution, components of which have already been certified by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Moreover, rtGO has also received SAFETY Act approval from the Department of Homeland Security. FLO’s kiosks haven’t been certified by TSA nor has its RT service received SAFETY Act approval. The combination of FLO and rtGO will have some ground to make up on the leading RT service provider, Clear, which has over 68,000 members and has been selected as the primary service provider by 10 airports. Winning the primary spot at an airport is important, but so is being able to market and distribute RT services at any of the airports that run RT programs, Luke Thomas, executive vice president for FLO, tells TR2. That’s because the biometric-enabled smart cards used by all RT members are interoperable with the technical solutions used by each RT service provider. FLO says it has been working with Unisys for a while in anticipation of the merger of their respective RT services and shortly plans to begin enrollment activities at major corporate headquarters. The company already has deals with a number of Fortune 1000 companies. Thomas says that Clear, which is offered by Verified Identity Pass, has focused on gaining its members benefits at the airport checkpoints through conveniences such as potentially not having to remove shoes, FLO is pitching a more consumer oriented message that emphasizes predictable and still quick wait times at checkpoints, Thomas says. While FLO isn’t ignoring the potential for security benefits at the checkpoint, it also plans to offer its members other travel and non-travel benefits, he says. For example, he says, FLO is planning to partner with a company that will give its members better home mortgages by stripping away some of the closing costs involved in the sale of a house. Another RT service provider, Vigilant Solutions, operates its Preferred Traveler solution at Jacksonville International Airport in Florida.