Google Snatches Spirit Airlines Data for $10 Million

Google acquired Spirit Airlines' internal corporate data for $10 million after the airline's bankruptcy. The purchase, which was made through a bankruptcy auction on August 14, included 600 million records of employee communications, customer interactions, and operational logs from over 17,000 employees.

The dataset covers emails, Teams messages, customer calls, fuel slips, and flight logs, as well as personal communications from employees. However, Google claims that it will preserve referential integrity for training purposes, which means that sensitive employee information will not be used for identification or targeting of individuals.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA has filed a court objection seeking the removal of sensitive employee data, citing concerns about privacy and unpaid wages. Union president Sara Nelson criticized Spirit Airlines for monetizing workers' private records while withholding vacation pay.