AIRLINE

The DOT hears our SOS

It turns out that all the negative things that happened to air travelers in 2010 – invasive body scans, multiplying fees, erupting volcanoes – were offset by at least one positive change: an increasingly passenger-friendly Transportation Department.

The federal government introduced new rules to help air travelers and enforced the regulations already on the books with a fervor unlike any administration in recent memory.

“Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is leading the first consumer-centered DOT in the history of commercial aviation,” says Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, which represents corporate travel interests. “And he’s doing so in a very thoughtful and sophisticated manner.”

In the spring, the agency imposed a controversial rule that effectively limited tarmac delays to three hours. A series of proposed consumer protection initiatives that would, among other things, strengthen airlines’ customer service requirements, force carriers to display airfares and optional fees to allow better side-by-side price comparisons, and boost fines for overbooking were proposed over the summer and are expected to become finalized in early 2011. If approved, they could change the way Americans fly more than any government action since the airline industry was deregulated in 1978.
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New on the wiki: airline industry contacts

It is only appropriate that the first category to appear on the On Your Side wiki is for the airline industry. I started researching the contacts for airlines a few years ago, and the files, which I published on my site, changed the way customers interact with their carrier. Changed it for the better, hopefully.

So here they are: Air Canada, AirTran Airways, American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America.

Got more to add? Please register to edit the wiki and then login to add your favorite (or least favorite) carrier.
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Ray LaHood: “We’re in the era of full disclosure”

In part two of their interview with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Christopher Elliott and Charlie Leocha explore the new tarmac-delay restrictions for airlines and pending rules for the disclosure of surcharges, such as baggage fees, that have spread through the airline industry. Here’s the first part.

The number of enforcement actions are up at the department’s Aviation Enforcement Office. Did you go down there and light a fire under them?

I think that people in the department understood when I came on board that safety was number one and we were going to look out for consumers. People knew I was a member of Congress and that I was co-sponsor of the Passenger Bill of Rights. Once we put out the tarmac rule, that sent a message out all over these two buildings and all over the FAA buildings who we care about.
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Gifts from the above: 7 presents we wish the airlines would give us


This was supposed to be a feel-good column for the holidays, where I asked readers what kind of presents they wanted from the travel industry, and all of the resulting good tidings left us warm and fuzzy.

And then I talked with you.

And here’s what you told me: First, your holiday list begins and ends with the airlines; and second, you do not feel warm and fuzzy. Not at all.
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And the award for tardiest airline of the summer goes to …

… American Airlines, according to a report released late today by FlightStats.

Less than two-thirds of its flights — 64.55 percent — were considered on-time. An eye-popping 16.20 percent of its flights were more than 44 minutes late.

Technically, American had the worst on-time record of the major airlines. But only four other airlines — regional carriers Colgan, Comair, Gulfstream International and Freedom Airlines — had more delays.

The absolute bottom was Freedom Airlines (maybe the wrong name, if you think about it) with only 54.52 percent of its flights leaving on time this summer.

The airline with the best record? Hawaiian Airlines, with 88.60 percent of its flights operating on time.

Surprisingly, it was followed by Frontier Airlines, which recorded an 85.34 percent on-time record for the summer.


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Who gives a hoot about 14 CFR Part 234? You should

Five people. That’s how many bothered to comment on the Transportation Department’s latest rulemaking proposal that would force airlines to report more details about delays. If you’re not shocked – no, outraged – by that number, read on. You will be.

You don’t have to be an inside-the-beltway politician to or a policy wonk to know why the proposal, which was quietly released for public comments on Nov. 20, is critically important. The proposed rule would have required airlines to report complete on-time and tarmac delay data about flights that may depart from a gate more than once, flights that are canceled after having left the gate and flights that are diverted to another airport.

Do we really need a history lesson?

So who bothered to comment?

A joint comment was received from the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) and the Regional Airline Association (RAA), representing 18 air carriers currently reporting performance data. Other comments were received from Delta Air Lines, the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights, and from five private citizens/airline consumers.

Translation: the government heard a lot from special interest groups — and a little from travelers.

Very little, in fact. It appears at least two of the comments were submitted by what I like to call airline apologists.

Of the five citizen comments, two stated that airlines should report all delays and publish their delay data on their websites, and one stated that the Department should fine air carriers $1 million for their first lapse in reporting.

That leaves two unaccounted for, and knowing what I do about this process, I have to assume the worst. But I digress.

How is it that only five citizens bothered to speak up?

First, finding out about a proposed rulemaking is incredibly difficult. You have to query this page on the BTS Web site. No rulemaking notices are sent to the public, as far as I can tell.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the government doesn’t want us to comment on its proposed rule changes. Maybe it prefers to hear from special interests and a handful of civic-minded individuals.

Fortunately, this rule change passed.

But I’m appalled. Yes, I think that’s the right word. Appalled.

If the deeply disgruntled airline passengers I deal with every day had an opportunity to share their thoughts on the Transportation Department’s rulemaking initiatives, I believe they would. And I believe they should.


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It’s official: airlines must double compensation for bumped passengers

Just in time for the busy summer travel season, the Transportation Department this morning announced a series of steps designed to calm the frayed nerves of air travelers, including a new rule that doubles the limit on compensation airlines must pay passengers who are involuntarily bumped from their flight.

The measures are outlined in a lengthy announcement outlining initiatives designed to “strengthen passenger protections, improve consumer choice and reduce congestion,” according to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

Well, somebody hose me down.

Among the steps:

Clearing the air. Peters announced new air traffic measures designed to help cut delays this summer. The first involves new flexibility for aircraft to use alternative routes in the sky to avoid severe weather. This includes a new routing alternative that provides an “escape route” into Canadian airspace from the New York metropolitan area so airlines can fly around summer thunderstorms and high winds.

Adding another “lane” in the sky. The Federal Aviation Administration will open a second westbound route for aircraft to New York. That’s the equivalent of building another interstate highway lane in the sky. It would, in effect, provide a parallel route along a heavily-traveled aviation corridor, helping cut westbound delays from the New York area.

More money for bumped passengers. A new rule (which I blogged about when it was first being considered) goes into effect next month under which air travelers who are involuntarily bumped would receive up to $400 if they are rescheduled to reach their destination within two hours of their original arrival time or four hours for international flights, and up to $800 if they are not rerouted within that timeframe.

But the Transportation Department buried the proverbial lede, as they say in journalism.

In its announcement, it pointed to an obscure government Web site called FightGridlock.gov, which led to a page that discusses a wider range of possible initiatives that could help air travelers.

Those include a proposed new rule that would increase the airline service quality performance data carriers currently report to the government on information related to canceled or diverted flights. And there are proposals designed to require airlines to create legally binding contingency plans for extended tarmac delays, respond to all consumer complaints within 30 days, publish complaint data online, and provide on-time performance information for international flights in addition to domestic flights.

You know, I read the Federal Register every day and didn’t see any of these proposals. Chances are, neither did you. Sadly, the time to comment on these ideas has already passed.

Grrrr.


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