So my takeaway is that for enhanced privacy I should try to book flights with travel agencies instead of directly with airlines. Is the advice still applicable or is it out of date with the advent of API and other ways the government collects information?
dang•1h ago
What's in a Passenger Name Record (PNR)? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6037279 - July 2013 (2 comments)
tolerance•12m ago
“PNR's show where you went, when, with whom, for how long, and at whose expense. Behind the closed doors of your hotel room, with a particular other person, they show whether you asked for one bed or two. Through departmental and project billing codes, business travel PNR's reveal confidential internal corporate and other organization structures and lines of authority and show which people were involved in work together, even if they travelled separately. Particularly in the aggregate, they reveal trade secrets, insider financial information, and information protected by attorney-client, journalistic, and other privileges.
Through meeting codes used for convention and other discounts, PNR's reveal affiliations -- even with organizations whose membership lists are closely-held secrets not required to be divulged to the government. Through special service codes, they reveal details of travellers' physical and medical conditions. Through special meal requests, they contain indications of travellers' religious practices -- a category of information specially protected by many countries.
PNR's for reservations made or changed online routinely include IP addresses and timestamps to enable them to be cross-referenced with Web server logs.”
The rest of the web site remains a curious display of information.