JetBlue sued over disclosure of data

Two lawsuits seek class-action status

By Bloomberg News, 9/24/2003

JetBlue Airways Corp., a low-fare carrier whose sales almost doubled last year, was sued by customers for disclosing passenger information to a US Defense Department contractor.

Two lawsuits, filed in state court in Salt Lake City and federal court in Los Angeles, seek class-action status to represent other passengers whose names, addresses, phone numbers, and flight itineraries were disclosed to Torch Concepts of Huntsville, Ala. The Utah complaint alleges that New York-based JetBlue violated the privacy policy posted on its website.

The airline also may face a Federal Trade Commission investigation of whether JetBlue deceived passengers by disclosing the information without their consent. That inquiry was sought by the Electronic Privacy Information Center advocacy group. JetBlue said it hired accounting firm Deloitte & Touche to analyze and further develop the privacy policy.

JetBlue's policy "says we do not disclose personal or financial information to third parties," said Marcia Hofmann, staff counsel for the Washington-based advocacy group. "That one, it seems to me, is a pretty blatant violation."

The airline, which has sent passengers an e-mail apology from David Neeleman, chief executive, didn't return telephone calls yesterday seeking comment.

The FTC will review the advocacy group's request "very carefully" said agency spokeswoman Claudia Bourne Farrell. James McConkie, the lawyer who filed the Utah lawsuit on behalf of two passengers in New York and three in Salt Lake City, said that "information, when it gets out, can lead to other things that are detrimental to customers." The suit estimates that 1 million passengers were affected.

The lawsuit in Los Angeles was filed on behalf of two California residents identified only as D. Turrett and K. Noble.

JetBlue said that "at the special request of the Department of Defense, the airline shared passenger itineraries but did not provide payment or credit card information to Torch Concepts." The statement said JetBlue wasn't paid by Torch and was assured that the data has been destroyed. Torch was using the data for a study assessing how information from public and private records can improve military base security.