> Tim May[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> At 12:51 PM -0700 4/25/01, Woody Patterson wrote:
> >--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> >> It's just as easy today- at least for one-ways. Just have the
> >> individual
> >> with the ID check in and hand the ticket to you. I've done it a
> >> million
> >> times.
> >> Free, encrypted, secure Web-based email at www.hushmail.com
> >
> >Just don;t do it on United Airlines. In several airports, there are
> >cameras behind the check-in counter that take a photo of you when you
> >check in. This photo is available on a computer screen at the gate to
> >any employee of the airline that cares to look.
>
> Boarding for all flights I have taken in the past several
> years--Southwest, American, United--has been so hectic and rushed
> that no stewardess is bothering to compare the boarding passes to
> photos!
>
> In the case of Southwest, the boarding passes are of course not even
> associated with a person: they are just numbered pieces of plastic.
> (Yeah, I _suppose_ some sufficiently determined adversary could be
> recording that "Boarding Pass # 37" was handed to "Alice Smith" and
> that the photo of the person handing in # 37 does not match the photo
> taken at the ticket check-in counter....I guarantee this is not
> happening UNLESS Southwest has been tipped-off and is cooperating
> with FBI or DEA types.)
>
> --Tim May
>
The bit Declan put in Wired today about the '4th
Information Hiding Workshop', which contains
some relevant material.
Towards the end of the article, he notes:
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,43355,00.html
-- start quote ------------
[...]
Convenience can also lend itself to anonymity.
Starting about a decade ago, U.S. airlines began
to check travelers' identification before letting them
board a flight. But to stave off long lines, U.S. Airways
now offers electronic check-in services at some airports.
The automated kiosks allow travelers -- at least
those not checking luggage -- to select their
seat assignment and board the plane after inserting
a frequent flyer card. No government-issued
identification or credit card is necessary.
"What's so encouraging about this is that even the
most respectable companies see nothing socially
stigmatizing about offering these options," said Rosen,
the Georgetown University professor. "It's extremely
encouraging since it shows what an American value
privacy is and how many people will (buy it)."
-- end quote ----------------
Now, this isn't perfect - I suspect it only works for
e-tickets, which have already been bought through
an identifiable credit card, but it breaks the link
between who buys the ticket, and who turns up at
the airport. Note that someone who has a FF card
is actually motivated to loan it out, since he'd get
credited with the FF points.
Sigh... Anyone remember People Express?
You could get in line, get on the plane, and pay
in-flight with cash (it was very cheap). No reserved
seats, giant overhead bins for luggage. No IDs
required. Now, *that* was private travel, circa 1980.
Peter Trei
