Lawmakers Question JetBlue About Surveillance Pricing Allegations

JetBlue is facing scrutiny over whether it uses surveillance pricing.

Two members of Congress said in a Tuesday (April 21) press release that they sent the airline a letter Monday (April 20) requesting information about whether it uses customer data and artificial intelligence to set prices for consumers.

Surveillance pricing is the use of indicators like a person’s location, demographics, shopping history, browsing patterns or mouse movements on a webpage to set “targeted, tailored” prices.

The lawmakers who sent the letter, Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., have introduced bills to crack down on surveillance pricing, according to the release.

Their letter was prompted by JetBlue’s X account suggesting on Monday that a customer who complained about a price increase try clearing their “cache and cookies or booking with an incognito window,” the release said.

The Financial Times reported Tuesday that the airline’s post was published Saturday (April 18) and later deleted.

The lawmakers’ press release said JetBlue’s response is “a clear suggestion that the company is using surveillance pricing.”

“While JetBlue claimed in the wake of this post that fares are not ‘determined’ by cached data or other personal information, this exchange still raises questions about how JetBlue sets prices — specifically, how JetBlue is defining personal data and whether personal data is used in any capacity to inform prices,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “We are especially concerned that customers could be charged different prices for the same flight based on their need for travel, such as attending a funeral.”

Reached by PYMNTS, JetBlue said in an emailed statement that the social media post “was incorrect and we apologize for the error.”

“JetBlue fares on JetBlue.com and our mobile app are not determined by cached data or other personal information,” the airline said.

JetBlue added: “We do not use AI or personal data to set individual pricing. All customers have access to the same fares.”

Another airline, Delta Air Lines, faced criticism last summer when it was accused of using surveillance pricing after reports that it tested AI-powered personalized pricing on about 3% of its flights. Delta Air Lines said at the time that it had never used, tested or planned to use any fare product that “targets customers with individualized offers based on personal information or otherwise.”