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British Airways Plans To Google Passengers

Posted by timothy on from the only-miscreants-and-terrorists-would-object dept.

itwbennett writes "British Airways wants to be the airline where everybody knows your name. The idea behind the 'Know Me' program is that by using Google Images to ID passengers, they'll be able to recreate the 'feeling of recognition you get in a favourite restaurant,' Jo Boswell, head of customer analysis at BA told the London Evening Standard. But the more privacy minded among us know that the airline could end up seeing a lot more than your face."

3 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. Fake personal touch != personal touch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I'm recognised in a favourite restaurant it's because we know each other well enough for that. If a stewardess I've never met before "recognises" me I know it's fake. The feeling I will probably get is of someone playing manipulative games with me.

    1. Re:Fake personal touch != personal touch by newcastlejon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      One would think BA would have learnt from Starbucks' mistake. Scratch that, British Airways should already be fully aware of the British people's contempt for such phoney chumminess. By and large, we just want to be given our coffee or shown to our seat and then left in peace.

      I'm sure the flight attendants are nice people, but they're not my friends and they ought not to act like they are. They should act like professionals instead.

      --
      If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
  2. Re:What if your name doesn't come up? by AngryDeuce · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Exactly. My name is about as common as 'John Smith' here in the U.S.; there is a major Hollywood composer that's done the soundtracks of hundreds of films over the last 30 or so years, professional athletes, a country music star, and an actor sharing my name, and that's just off the top of my head. If you were to Google me I'd bet you'd have to go 30 pages deep to find a link that is even possibly connected to me in any way, shape or form.

    Hell, just within my home state there are dozens of results for my name, nationwide, there's probably thousands of people with the same first and last name as me. Unless you have a very unique name, I don't see how this is going to be effective at all...