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BBC lists the data that the European airlines are supposed to give the US:


Passenger profile

The Passenger Name Record (PNR) data that has been transferred up to now, falls into 34 overlapping fields, some of which contain very little information, for example the passenger's name, while others contain a lot, including the passenger's name (again), date of birth, sex, citizenship and so on.

Some of this information is collected when the ticket is booked, some of it at check-in, and some is information about the passenger's travelling history, which can be gleaned from the reservation database. Not all the fields will necessarily be filled in.

The data can be broken down into the following categories

Information about the passenger: name; address; date of birth; passport number; citizenship; sex; country of residence; US visa number (plus date and place issued); address while in the US; telephone numbers; e-mail address; frequent flyer miles flown; address on frequent flyer account; the passenger's history of not showing up for flights

Information about the booking of the ticket: date of reservation; date of intended travel; date ticket was issued; travel agency; travel agent; billing address; how the ticket was paid for (including credit card number); the ticket number; which organisation issued the ticket; whether the passenger bought the ticket at the airport just before the flight; whether the passenger has a definite booking or is on a waiting list; pricing information; a locator number on the computer reservation system; history of changes to the booking

Information about the flight itself: seat number; seat information (eg aisle or window); bag tag numbers; one-way or return flight; special requests, such as requests for special meals, for a wheelchair, or help for an unaccompanied minor

Information about the passenger's itinerary: other flights ticketed separately, or data on accommodation, car rental, rail reservations or tours.

Information about other people: the group the passenger is travelling with; the person who booked the ticket
The CBP system has been built in such a way that some "sensitive" information is filtered out.

Protected data

According to the undertakings on data protection provided by the US, this includes "personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, and data concerning the health or sex life of the individual".

This means that Halal or Kosher meal preferences will not show up, while requests for a vegetarian meal will.

(...)
The PNR data is not used simply to check names against blacklists of known suspected terrorists, but to find new suspects with suspicious patterns of behaviour

"You can be sure that the US will construe whatever they can from the information provided. You can construe a lot from someone's name," says Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform.

The PNR data is not used simply to check names against blacklists of known suspected terrorists, but to hunt for people with suspicious patterns of behaviour.

"They have compiled a number of scenarios which they believe amount to suspicious activity and the data is screened for a match. Did the passenger pay cash, did he have baggage? And so on," says Hugo Brady.

Not using a credit card is unAmerican.

"Ignoring moralities is always undesirable, but doing so systematically is really worrisome." Mohammed Khatami

by eternalcityblues (parvati_roma aaaat libero.it) on Fri Oct 6th, 2006 at 07:22:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Cash is untraceable, therefore suspicious.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Oct 6th, 2006 at 07:27:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
According to the undertakings on data protection provided by the US, this includes "personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, and data concerning the health or sex life of the individual".

This means that Halal or Kosher meal preferences will not show up, while requests for a vegetarian meal will.

can we get European Buddhists to sue the US  and the EU for religious discrimination?

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Oct 6th, 2006 at 07:29:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I pay in cash as much as possible. It's the guaranteed way to disrupt the system. Most people think its so cool to use a pin card at the supermarket and pay everything with plastic. Banks are so, oh, so impressive and respectable. If everyone started using more and more cash, a financial revolution would be triggered. Let the black money and the white money roll! Try to avoid banks, all financial institutons as much as possible. I'm a decrepit hippie.
by Quentin on Fri Oct 6th, 2006 at 08:23:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Not using a card or check, as Miguel pointed out, is a bit odd, because going from the US to Europe (or the other way) usually involves forking over at least £500, if you're headed to Britain, and probably much more to others, since there is a lot of competition on that route, coming out of Atlanta, JFK, Reagan, and Ft. Worth.  That's a lot of cash to carry around.  I'm not saying it should be illegal, obviously, but it can easily be seen as an initial eyebrow-raiser.

Where's your motherf*%&ing flag pin?
by Drew J Jones (blahblahblah@blahblahblah.com) on Fri Oct 6th, 2006 at 08:33:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
If you use your card to pay for airport parking, or a taxi to the airport, or a hotel nearby, or if you buy something on your card in France on Monday and in NYC on Tuesday, your travel particulars have already made it into your personal record in Acxiom's database anyway. What's the problem, oh continent of heaviest credit card usage?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acxiom

by asdf on Fri Oct 6th, 2006 at 06:48:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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