JetBlue customer privacy lawsuit thrown out

In a boost for JetBlue Airways and customers, a US district judge has thrown out a class-action lawsuit charging the discount airline with violating customer privacy.

The low-fare airline, based in Forest Hills, New York, was relieved after Judge Carol Amon threw out the suit after deciding that the information JetBlue gave out did not cause its customers any harm.

Cheap airline tickets can be bought from the discount carrier JetBlue for fares as low as $60 round trip.

JetBlue had been compiling passenger information lists through voluntary surveys given to its customers.

Despite having a policy of not giving out customer information, the surveys were given to database companies Acxiom, Torch Concepts, and SRS Technologies.

The companies had been contracted by the government to analyze these lists to determine which people might pose a terrorism risk on a flight.

Judge Amon ruled that JetBlue was not entitled to violate its own privacy policy, despite its good intentions, but at the same time did not see any evidence that customers for the cheap airline had been damaged.

She also rejected a claim that JetBlue had profited from giving the databases to the companies as they had been given the information for free.

Amon wrote: "The only benefit JetBlue derived was the potential for increased safety on its flights and the potential to prevent the use of commercial airlines as weapons."

Jenny Durbin, a spokeswoman for JetBlue apologized to the customers of the discount airline.

She said: "Although the action was found to be lawful, it violated our privacy protection policy. We regret that deeply, and we have no intention of sharing information with any third party."

The news will come as a relief to potential cheap airline ticket customers who, during the trial, had feared their privacy would be violated should they purchase a JetBlue ticket.

The discount airline had seen a drop in customers during the controversy.

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