JetBlue Hit With Class Action Claiming It Used Passenger Data To Inflate Fares

A proposed class action filed April 22 accuses JetBlue Airways of using customers' personal data without consent to set and vary ticket prices, and of selling that data to third parties. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and centers on New York resident Andrew Phillips.

The suit alleges that while Phillips was booking travel on JetBlue's website, the airline tracked his personal information "for the purpose of setting prices." According to the complaint, the carrier used that data to enable "real-time" price changes that allow the airline to charge different fares to different customers based on their personal information—data the plaintiff says consumers did not authorize for that use.

In addition to the pricing claims, the filing asserts JetBlue sold Phillips' information to third parties without permission and violated federal and state privacy protections, including alleged breaches of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and two New York consumer protection statutes. Phillips is seeking unspecified damages and has demanded a jury trial.

A JetBlue plane on a runwayCredit: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty

Evidence Cited

The complaint includes a screenshot of an April 18 exchange on X in which a JetBlue account appeared to tell a customer to clear their cache and cookies after reporting a $230 fare increase within a day while trying to book travel to a funeral. The screenshot is cited by plaintiffs as evidence that the airline's systems may be tracking browser or device data tied to prices.

JetBlue's Response

A JetBlue check-in counter at John F. Kennedy International AirportCredit: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty

JetBlue issued a statement denying it uses personal browsing history or other personal information to set individualized fares, saying instead that fares are determined by demand and seat availability and that the same fares are available to all customers on jetblue.com and the mobile app. The airline also characterized the social-media reply as an error by a customer-service employee and said the suggested steps would not have changed the fares available for purchase.

Political Attention

Separately, Representatives Greg Casar and Senator Ruben Gallego have asked JetBlue to answer detailed questions about its pricing practices and whether it uses personal data to "inform prices," according to Reuters.

"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 complaint reads.

The case is ongoing, and JetBlue has not commented specifically on the proposed class action beyond its public statement denying individualized pricing based on personal data.