JetBlue and CAPPS II: A Bad Combination
It's been posted several places that CAPPS II is a Bad Bad Thing, and now, tragically, one of my favorite airlines, JetBlue, has stepped forward to be the testbed for such a system. I'm struck by a stark contrast. I love flying JetBlue. I think their seats are comfortable and the TV is wonderful. Their service to me has never been anything but good. However, I am also struck by my conscience. Do I want to force 8% of travelling Americans to be sidelined for extra searches? Do I want to force 1% of travelling Americans to be sidelined to the bus or to hitch-hiking? No, I don't think that I do.
So, for now, JetBlue, I will have to stop flying your airlines. Don't do this, JetBlue. It's an invasion into the private lives of Americans everywhere and I won't stand for that.
Please, please, rethink this decision. I have two trips coming up to Long Beach and another still to the Bay Area. Rethink this decision, I want to give you money, but cannot do so in good conscience right now.
Dig Deeper for my letter to JetBlue, or write your own here.
I read today that JetBlue is going to be the test bed for the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II) and that deeply concerns me. As a company that professes "JetBlue Airways has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy." I do not understand how you could engage in such a maneuver.
I have, for the past year and a half, enjoyed excellent service aboard your planes, at your gates and at your website. I have acted as a very frequent proponent of your airline at my company and to my friends , recommending to our staff that they use JetBlue wherever possible. That has come to an end today. I will now tell my friends NOT to fly JetBlue. I will now tell my coworkers NOT to fly JetBlue.
This is not a decision I have made lightly. In looking at the CAPPS II Program, I see that the passenger data will be matched against "private databases, terrorist watch lists and felony warrant lists." And while I do not object to the third category, I do object to the first two. These Private Databases that are mentioned are likely neither appealable nor explainable to the common public and they need to be. If you're going to bar someone from air travel, you should at least have the common decency to explain to them why they have been banned, and what action they can take to have the ban removed. There is no such mechanism currently in place to handle these options.
Please rethink your decision to be the CAPPS II test-bed. I have several trips to the West Coast this fall and winter and I would prefer to fly JetBlue. However, if you are still going to be testing CAPPS II, I will likely choose another airline.
Sincerely,
Tom Bridge
TrueBlue #xxx-xxx-xx
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JetBlue scandal
Someone on IRC told me about this... "JetBlue Airways confirmed on Thursday that in September 2002, it provided 5 million passenger itineraries to a defense contractor for proof-of-concept testing of a Pentagon project unrelated to airline security -- ...
Comments:
You know, I just saw this story on BoingBoing and the first person I thought of was you. I remember you praising the services of JetBlue and was wondering your opinion on this controversy...
It's nice to know some people listening to their own conscience!
Posted by mike m on September 16, 2003 — 2:40 PM
I too am a frequent JetBlue passenger and while I don't agree with this at all (I get hassled enough through security as it is), I don't know that many customers will actually care. They should, of course, but many won't read, and will not understand what it all means even if they do. (btw, you may want to remove your Freq. Flyer number from this entry)
Posted by adi on September 16, 2003 — 2:48 PM