My thoughts sent to the GGL desk & [email protected]

"It may be theft, but British Airways has a duty of care for my data. And you failed !

Every site with client data of any value, all over the globe, is being targeted on a daily basis. This should not have come as a surprise to British Airways. Every minute of every day securing your customers data should have been a priority.

British Airways track record in regard technology is poor, in fact very poor. From failed server power components, to systems which are unable to obtain one world partners reward seating availability, to this latest instance of not securing your clients data. Many of these issues would be avoided by not leaving the responsibility for any technology to an outsourced provider.

When I communicate with BA via email, you send me an automated email stating,

“Thank you for contacting British Airways Executive Club - it's good to hear from you.
We're usually quick to respond and will be in touch with you as soon as possible - you don't need to send your query again at any time.

In order to make sure we continue to securely protect your data, we’ve revised our validation procedures, allowing us to discuss your details or bookings with you. This ensures that your data continues to be held securely and we only discuss issues with you or a person you have given us the authority to act on your behalf. For all your future account queries (including the email you’ve just sent to us), you will need to provide the following information in your enquiry before we can answer you:

The registered postal address on your account
Your date of birth or passport number
Please also make sure you've given us your account number.

We thank you so much for your support and cooperation with this.”

It seems there are better procedures in place to ensure someone can’t just change my seat assignment via email, than to protect my credit card and personal information.

Every week I make a decision which airline I choose to fly with. I have many things to consider; quality of in flight experience, price, route convenience, and perhaps most importantly how much does the airline value my business. This inability to protect my data tells me British Airways didn’t value it enough to securely protect it.

If I reach this conclusion, is it in my best interest to ‘call it quits’ with BA, give up my GGL, take a soft landing to Silver and re-evaluate my loyalty ?

I guess you’ll learn about my thoughts in this regard over the next 10 months. And I’ll learn more about your desire to retain my loyalty by the actions you take over the forthcoming weeks and months."

Let's see what they 'do'. Not just for me, but for everyone affected by this.