That’s a question with consequences, since a trove of airline data could be a gold mine for cybercriminals to get when an airline gets hacked. And, it has happened, including to American Airlines late last year.
For frequent flyers, it’s an especial risk: airline data includes where you’ve gone and when, what credit cards you used, medical information, passport numbers, your ID data used for security purposes and a lot more personal detail, not all of which their privacy policies mention.
It’s a trade-off: It’s easy to book tickets when your favorite airlines know who you are, you may get special promotional offers and more. But, despite American’s public assurance that only some travelers’ data was stolen and that (as far as AA knew) it had not been misused.
A few airlines are more upfront in their policies on what data they collect and keep; Qantas, for instance, lists in its policy that it keeps track of your social media accounts, dietary preferences, what you watched on the inflight screens and even images taken by security cameras in the airline’s lounges
