Overview
- JetBlue was sued in a proposed class action filed Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court alleging the airline used customer data and website trackers to raise fares, naming tools such as FullStory and pricing vendor PROS.
- JetBlue says it does not use personal information or AI to set individual prices and attributes a viral social-media reply to an employee mistake, adding that fares change with demand and seat availability.
- Two Democrats in Congress, Rep. Greg Casar and Sen. Ruben Gallego, sent an April 20 letter that gives CEO Joanna Geraghty until April 30 to explain whether any personal data or AI informs the airline’s pricing.
- The lawsuit followed an April 18 exchange on X where a customer saw a $230 increase while trying to fly to a funeral, and a now-deleted JetBlue reply suggested clearing cookies or using an incognito window.
- The complaint seeks unspecified damages under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and New York consumer laws, sharpening a wider debate over dynamic inventory pricing versus behavior-based personalization that could change how airlines disclose and justify fare swings.