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It’s getting hard to fly away from your troubles. JetBlue is facing a class action lawsuit alleging it uses personal data to set ticket prices.
Filed Wednesday night in Brooklyn Federal Court, the complaint alleges JetBlue uses tracking technologies both directly and on third-party sites, such as FullStory, to collect consumer data and set dynamic pricing, The Guardian reported.
This tension between the company and consumers was brought to light recently after a social media post went viral on X of a traveler’s complaints over a $230 single-day fare increase on a ticket they were trying to purchase for a funeral trip. An employee on JetBlue’s social media team replied by telling the passenger to try an incognito browser or clear their cache and cookies, which to many was seen as an admission of tracking influencing pricing.
“Consumers should not have to have their privacy rights violated to participate in (JetBlue’s) digital rat race for airline tickets, which should cost the same for each similarly seated passenger,” the plaintiff, Andrew Phillipssaid in the complaint.
Posting Problems
JetBlue took down its original reply to the post and reissued its response, stating that fares are determined by demand and seat availability, and that customers have access to the same fares on the website and app.
Yet the post spread reapidly. The lawsuit notes that a letter was sent by United States Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and House of Representatives member Greg Casar (D-TX), which called for an investigation into JetBlue’s use of personal data for setting fare prices.
In a statement to CBS, the company said, “JetBlue does not use personal information or web browsing history to set individual pricing. Fares are determined by demand and seat availability, and all customers have access to the same fares on jetblue.com and our mobile app.”
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