Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times(emphasis ours),

JetBlue Airlines has been sued in a class action lawsuit seeking damages for allegedly using consumers’ personal data to increase airfares.

The case was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York.

Brought by plaintiff Andrew Phillips of New York, the litigation states thatPhillips booked his ticket on JetBlue’s website, which included a flight from New York to Florida. As required, he provided his contact and payment information, as well as desired airfare and accommodations, according to the lawsuit. However,Phillips was unaware that the airline’s tracking code had also collected and provided other information to a third party.

According to the lawsuit, JetBlue has historically used consumer data to make assumptions about the consumer that could impact pricing.

“The ‘Operating System and Platform’ a consumer uses may seem benign—butit is commonly weaponized as a means to tell the socioeconomic status of a consumer,as those who use Apple’s iOS operating system and platforms are often wealthier than those who use an Android operating system and platform,” the lawsuit states.

In addition, the airline allegedly collected information about consumers’ geographic locations that allow them to adjust prices based on someone’s zip code or socioeconomic class based on where they live.

“This is all highly concerning,” the litigation states. “It allows Defendant to manipulate prices in real time in order to make as much money as they can on fares for airline tickets which are priced differently for consumers based on their private information, which they did not consent to surrender for this purpose.”

The lawsuit also cites a conversation between JetBlue’s X account and a customer, arguing that it suggests the company may use customer data in connection with ticket pricing.

In the exchange, the customer wrote, “I love flying @JetBlue but a $230 increase on a ticket after one day is crazy. I’m just trying to make it to a funeral.”

Source: ZeroHedge News