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TravelMole Interview: Kevin Mitchell, chairman, Business Travel Coalition
Two recent cases of US airlines providing passenger records to the government underscores the responsibility of travel agents to make full disclosure, according to Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Radnor, Pa-based lobbying group. “From a practical standpoint, they need to be as explicit as possible with their clients that they will do all they can to protect their data, but that it’s out of their control at some point such as when the airlines take over,” he told TravelMole. The first of the two cases involved JetBlue Airways, which in September said it turned over passenger records to a defense contractor. Mr Mitchell believes that the airline handled the matter correctly. “They apologized to their customers and moved on,” he said. The more recent case involved Northwest, where its top executive said he was misinformed when he denied in September that the airline had provided passenger records to the National Aeronautic and Space Administration. “The CEO said he was unaware that millions of records were given to the federal government in a secret program, so he’s either lying, which is bad, or he doesn’t know what’s going on in his own company,” Mr Mitchell said. Nearly half of the corporate and purchasing managers contacted by the Business Travel Coalition said they were “extremely concerned” about how Northwest handled the matter. He added the issue is a serious one. “Anytime you find out people are taking your data and giving it away, there’s a very basic concern about your security and safety,” he said. “If Jet Blue and Northwest are taking data, who else may be out there doing it?” Mr Mitchell believes that the world travel community is increasingly seeing the US as “Fortress America,” a place where security is becoming paramount. He said: ”Security is important, but if often seems to me the government is moving ahead too often without sufficient debate. And the other issue that comes up is how well they are communicating? “
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