"Protected Passenger" warning code?
 

Wondering if anyone knows what it means when a passenger is flagged on the computer system as a "protected passenger"?

A friend recently flew CDG-SFO on SE (XL Airways France). When the ticketing agent scanned his passport at check-in, a warning came up on her computer that said "passager protégé." She was very surprised and said she had never seen that message before. She tried a few things, but the system wouldn't let her proceed with check-in. She called several colleagues over, all of whom were equally baffled, until one entered some code that seemed to clear the flag. The original agent finished check-n, apparently having no idea of what that was all about.

Any ideas?

From AC's Reservations system glossary.

Protected PSGR - Passenger with "A" status, that ensures a seat will be protected and the passenger will be accepted up to flight close

Do you know what a passenger with "A" status is? Is this a common flag?

Was there a connection from SFO onward? Perhaps it's put in when there is a tight connection to make sure that the seat is held in case they are late to arrive at the gate?

Hmm very good question. But in this case it was a direct flight and final destination was SFO.

I'm guessing, in this case, Star Alliance status *A - as seen on AC luggage tags.

Does LX have a loyalty program? What sort of fare was ticketed - fully refundable?

EDIT

"I'm guessing, in this case, Star Alliance status *A - as seen on AC luggage tags."

Scratch that. *A = Aeroplan basic.

Again, a decent guess, but the person in question does not have status with any loyalty program. Also, remember that he was flying XL Airways (not LX), with a non-refundable economy ticket.


The only other thing I can think of is that he has a disability and the last time he was in the US (at JFK) he was given a special escort, priority at security, etc. I don't know if they would have put a special note in the system in a situation like this... But he has flown since then (though it was within France and probably without a passport), and this flag did not come up.

Sorry meant XL and edited my previous post.