JetBlue to test CAPPS II

When details of new testing for Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System II (CAPPS II) profiling were disclosed last week, the TSA refused to say which airline(s) would be participating.

    The new system, called Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System II (CAPPS II), has sparked so much controversy among both liberal and conservative groups that the TSA has struggled to get it going. Delta Air Lines backed out of a testing program with the agency earlier this year, and now the TSA will not reveal which airlines will participate when it tests a prototype early next year. If all goes as planned, the TSA will begin the new computer screening of some passengers as early as next summer and eventually it will be used for all domestic travelers.

Now, however, Wired reveals that JetBlue has agreed to participate in the test.

    Conservative activists, including former Republican Rep. Bob Barr, learned the information at an off-the-record meeting with Adm. James M. Loy, the head of the TSA, last week, when Loy indicated that the testing platform had moved from Delta to JetBlue.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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