Back in January, I blogged the story of how American Airlines demanded that I provide them with a written dossier of the names and addresses of the friends I was going to stay with in the US before I was to board a plane in London.
Today, I received a response. It's a nice letter, but it doesn't answer most of the questions I had about why AA wanted a written dossier on my friends' names and addresses — what's more, it contains outright lies about what happened at the airport.
So I've sent AA a reply, and posted it as well:
Alas, nearly every question that I raised in my last letter
remain unanswered. Additionally, your letter contains an element
that is factually incorrect, and I would like to correct the
record on this point.Factual incorrectness: I was never, ever informed that the
information that I was being asked to give over — the names and
addresses of the friends in the USA with whom I would be staying
— would be disposed of immediately. Quite the opposite: I
repeatedly asked what the document retention policy was for this
material, and was given no answer to this question. If one of
your employees has informed you that this was the case, they are
not being truthful with you. Had anyone told me that this
information was to be immediately destroyed, I would have had a
very different response to the one I had.I'm alarmed that this falsehood was part of an account that was
given to the press. Please ensure that future communications with
the press do not include this misrepresentative fabrication; AA
has a legal and moral duty to faithfully adhere to the truth in
its communications to the public.New questions:
1. Your letter states that "specific behaviors" triggered my
secondary screening. What were these behaviors? I would like to
know so that I can avoid a repeat of this unfortunate and
frustrating incident.2. If this indeed was an isolated incident caused by a single
screener's inadequate training, why did the screener's supervisor
affirm that her request was both AA policy and an (unspecified)
Transport Security Agency regulation?
