There are already reports of travel companies like Orbitz and American Airlines posting higher prices for customers using the Safari web browser found on Apple products due to the assumption they may be wealthier than those using other browsers like Internet Explorer. The prospect of airlines pricing fares on the basis of people's postcodes has sparked criticism from consumer groups, which have called for a national debate on data collection by large corporations. Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said many consumers were unaware of the extent to which companies were using data to sell them products at a higher price. "They are targeting in a way in which we can make them more money. Charging passengers based on your postcode is a bit rich," he said. "Organisations are getting more data, and that data is being used in a way to deny choice. Consumers should be able to see the type of information that companies are collecting."

"You will identify what a customer wants and deliver the appropriate product and the appropriate price for the customer.": Qantas chief Alan Joyce. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen There are already reports of travel companies like Orbitz and American Airlines posting higher prices for customers using the Safari web browser found on Apple products due to the assumption they may be wealthier than those using other browsers like Internet Explorer. Qantas Airways chief executive Alan Joyce said with the amount of data held by the airline – including from its frequent flyer program with 10.7 million members – it would work toward designing individual products. "You will identify what a customer wants and deliver the appropriate product and the appropriate price for the customer," he said. "You might want the latest movie from a studio [in flight]. Whatever that is, if you decide on that product and it is priced individually, that is the way things are going longer term and that is what our customers want." Emirates chief executive Tim Clark said personalisation was about offering value to customers rather than just a higher price.

"I believe we will adapt more to what passengers want," he said. "Cheaper fares is not the answer to everything. It is the combination of value. We can give you things you like. Surprisingly a lot of people don't look for the best deal, they look for the brand, the quality of the airline. They are willing to pay a bit more." Mr Cruz said Vueling would work to bring targeted offers to customers that could bring in extra revenue for the airline. "If you are away from home and you are going to take a flight and it is raining and somehow you get a proposal for an earlier flight and it will cost you $US100, is that something you want to pursue?" he said. "Maybe you want to pursue it. You see value there." Mr Joyce said Qantas already offered a more personalised service for its top-tier flyers using data as a result of their financial importance to the airline. "We had a CEO that was travelling on Qantas," he said. "She wanted to see a movie on the aircraft and the in-flight entertainment wasn't working on that flight. The cabin manager apologised and went into the system and reported the problem. By the time the passenger landed in Sydney there was an apology there and a DVD of the movie of the movie she wanted to see was delivered to her house. And she told everybody how well we took care of her, because we had information and tracked it."

He acknowledged she received different treatment than an economy class customer with a lower loyalty status would have gotten on the same flight. "It is obviously a tiered service as you would expect given there is first class, business class and different levels of customers," he said. "We are running businesses and we are dedicating our services to [high value] customers." But he added having a large pool of data also led to better service in economy class. "If you are sitting in 99A … and it is your birthday and a special occasion and we know about it, [the flight attendants] will come down," he said. "Our people come to celebrate something special." The reporter travelled to Miami as a guest of IATA and Qantas