physioprof

That horse has already left the barn, and it seems likely to me that any incremental additional risk due to this FA app is de minimus.

emcampbe

People who are intent on stealing this kind of data are going to do it regardless. Whether security is good vs. the best available, if someone is hell bent on getting the info, they will probably eventually figure out how to do it - whether it's from a mainframe, PDA, etc.

When online commerce was a fairly new thing, it amazed me how many people were worried about the info. being stolen despite the encryption, etc. This especially because those same people were apparently willingly handing their card over to what is the most lax security ever - say, a waiter at a restaurant, who takes their card into the back out of customer view to charge it, and could far more easily be taking all this info for nefarious purposes - all this info which is completely unencrypted.

I am not a fan of the chipped cards really, and personally am not convinced that it offers much additional security per say. However, now that the machine comes to you (at least in Canada and other countries where chipped cards are the norm), this seems to be a way to take out the easiest way to steal ones CC details.

As for FAs knowing my birthday, I could really care less, and I can only see them knowing my itinerary be helpful.

And if you don't like the info. being shared with FAs (and most of it likely already has been on paper, anyway), they are free to move to another carrier that doesn't use these kind off technological advances. However, that list is going to become much smaller in the next several years - AC, etc. have already started and it's just going to keep going. Saying the benefit is only saving "4 seconds" is shortsighted and just plain inaccurate, by the way. And how much better is paper which can get easily lost, or discarded without protections where it could be available to more than those who figured out to hack into an electronic device.

notquiteaff

Does the FA contract allow United to assign new tasks such as rebooking passengers to flight attendants? (if so, I would like to see the lavatories cleaned inflight. No app required).

fastair

A good question, along with the other good question, does the IAM allow for other work groups to perform the duties performed as part of the core work of res and CS? Remember, the flight attendants are still negotiating a contract while the IAM groups have been working under a joint contract already.

JBord

Well, it's not as hard as guessing 16 digits. You may have noticed that only the second half varies within a brand. And the expiration used was the month in which the card was used by the hacker. The security person I spoke with (unsure of his qualifications) stated this was now the most frequent hack they see when I asked him if I could do anything differently. Take it with a grain of salt if you wish.

My point is the information on the FA app hardly concerns me, given that there seems to be easier ways to get more useful information.

The privacy matter here bothers me more. Whether it is useful to a criminal or not, I see no reason for anyone to know my birthday, for example. I don't have a Facebook or similar account because I just don't think I need to make my personal information available to the whole world. At my company, I have to take a test every year about data privacy and our rule is you do not provide or ask for personal information that isn't necessary to do your job. I would prefer that to be the rule for the app too.

But in the end, we all have to come to grips with the fact that if someone wants to get your data to cause you harm, they can find a way to do it. You can put some safeguards in place, but nothing is 100% safe.

NewportGuy

Actually a lot of such theft are crimes of opportunity. Someone scans until they find a weak entry opportunity, like these toys FAs will soon have. So many thieves aren't looking for the big hack, just data that presents itself easily. Easy in, easy out, and disappear into the masses. All United is doing is making it easier.

notquiteaff

Yup. My birthday is not required information to provide good service. I personally find "robo congratulations" rather annoying. Does anyone here really care about a "Happy birthday" from an FA, prompted by a little electronic device that retrieved that information out of a big database? How creative!

JVPhoto

If someone wants this info so badly why not just hack into the United database/mainframe and get a whole lot more than just a single flight's...to which you assume they would also have to be on to take.

tcp1

So, my FA friend is actually crashing here on a layover and she was able to show me the iPhone 6 and the app.

I won't post a screenshot until I can maybe sanitize it a bit (to protect her, in case her showing this was a no-no) but overall, the amount of information shown is greatly exaggerated.

The app that lets her see itineraries looks EXACTLY like our current UA app if you click on a reservation. I mean it's exactly the same - it shows the very same thing you see if you click on a reservation - The flight number and departure/arrival times and cities, the class of service, name and seat, and a flight status link.

The birthday thing apparently only shows up IF it is that customer's birthday. It's not printed on there.

The iPhone 6 plus has a united branded blue case, and a light blue card reader cradle thing. She has to upload her "sales" at the end of the day; that is, it's up to each FA to process her onboard in-flight sales when she lands.

I'll follow up with more maybe when I get back tonight.. It's interesting, but not nearly as interesting as alleged.

dmurphynj

I was on a flight BCN-EWR a few weeks ago, where the lead FA (or inflight service coordinator or purser or whatever you want to call them) had said device. It was fantastic. He went seat to seat in BF and made sure each of us knew which gate we were coming into, what our ETA was shortly before landing, and how far it was to any connections. (For me, EWR is home, so no connection.)

It was great service! A very nice touch that gave the crew time to interact with the passengers in a personal way. Really made one feel the United love. Got a nice thanks for my business as a 1K also.

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on the UA cover either - it seemed tastefully done with the "cities" background diagonally across the bottom of the case. Very nice.

transportbiz

It's all sounding more and more like an employer app to keep track of inventory and sales more than anything else.

A friend of mine who is a Delta FA, showed me a similar app they have, does all the same basically.

NewportGuy

Again, unnecessary. Nothing of value to the customer, so why?

JVPhoto

Survey says...?

blueman2

This wins the Irony award of the week.

Really, I think some people are getting rather self righteous about their personal data that is not really personal. If it were my medical records, credit card number, financial records, etc, I would worry. But birthday? Really?

zitsky

OTOH birthday is used as a security question on some websites. It's not enough to hack into an account, but it's a start. I mostly agree with you, it's not a big deal and does let them personalize service better.