Privacy Exited the Airport Long Before British Airways Discovered Google

Reporter

British Airways has come under the scrutiny of privacy groups who object to the airline?s search of Google Images, in an effort to recognize passengers and their preferences as part of its ?Know Me? program.?

Back in April, Mike Croucher head of IT and architecture and delivery at British Airways, told CIO Journal that it was part of a series of efforts to improve customer experience on the airline. Privacy group Big Brother Watch told the Daily Mail that for British Airways to do this without the permission of its customers was wrong, and possibly illegal under the Data Protection Act in the U.K.

As CIOs increasingly acquire the tools to learn more about people with whom the company interacts, whether that?s customers or employees, privacy will increasingly become a concern. This will become an even bigger concern as companies start to capitalize on big data and begin to correlate online information with internal data to learn more about customers. In my opinion, the issue boils down primarily to context.?

It?s useful to ask whether your customers or employees generally expect privacy in the particular context of the service. Do customers expect privacy in the context of airline travel? If my recent experience is any indication, I?d say no.?

On Saturday, I arrived with my family at the airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after a week of lounging in hammocks, swimming and visiting the rain forest. My bags were scanned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture before I even got to the counter. I presented my passport twice. I took off my outerwear and walked through a metal detector barefoot. Yuck, I know. Luckily, TSA let me skip the machine that requires me to raise my hands above my head so it can see what?s under my clothes.?

Air travel has become dehumanizing and invasive. In my adult life, any semblance of privacy has disappeared.

In the last few years, as airlines have cut back on meal service, leg room and even pillows and blankets, it?s become physically more uncomfortable too. In the context of air travel, I no longer expect privacy. But good customer service goes a long way to mitigating the physical discomfort of air travel.

I understand the concern of privacy groups that some people fear profiling or even more exposure in a world where privacy is quickly evaporating. In any event, British Airways can easily remedy this situation. When customers indicate seat preferences, why not let them click a box giving airlines the option to use Google to provide better customer service? The iPad app could simply show nothing where passengers indicate they want privacy. ?

I would like an aisle seat, a relatively healthy snack and keep the coffee coming. If the flight attendant greeted me by name and handed me a copy of The Wall Street Journal when I boarded? Even better.

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/07/09/privacy-exited-the-airport-long-before-british-airways-discovered-google/?mod=WSJBlog

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