Airlines expected to appeal Passenger Bill of Rights today

by Jeffrey White on

I’ll say this about the airline industry: There seems to be very few instances when it will take a knock or two in the interest of its passengers. It’s as if the suits in the boardrooms just don’t understand who is keeping the perennially cash-strapped industry afloat (oh wait, it’s the government, right?)

Today the industry is expected to file its formal appeal of New York’s so-called Passenger Bill of Rights, which was signed last August and was to take effect at the beginning of this year. They’ve already challenged the bill in court once. They lost. That wasn’t good enough.

What’s baffling is that the bill could be so much more strict than it is. You would think the industry would just cut and run, or figure out a way to pass on whatever additional costs it accrues to the customer (airlines are really good at that).

According to published reports, under the bill commercial airlines are required to provide a whole host of amenities – food, water, functional restrooms, fresh air – if the flight in question has pushed back and remained on the tarmac for more than three hours.

More than three hours.

So, apparently cooling our jets — sorry for the pun, wrapped in a cliché — on the tarmac without these basics is acceptable for 2hr. 45min, or whatever.

Calls for a Passenger Bill of Rights picked up steam a year ago, following the now-famous Jet Blue debacle, when more than 1,000 people flying the airline sat hostage on the tarmac for hours – one flight for more than 11 hours – during a New York snow storm.

So, given that embarrassment — and it was really an industrywide embarrassment — you would think that airlines would suck it up and swallow what is really a watered-down pill, if for no other reason than to win back passenger loyalty. Nope.

Ok, some airlines have passed their own rules regarding compensating passengers for delays. But the industry as a whole looks set to fight on. This week, according to the Washington Post, the government chimed in on the industry’s side, saying that the Airline Deregulation Act trumps state law.

In reality, passengers deserve an even tougher bill. However this one was probably seen as having the best chance against the industry’s considerable lobby. At least in theory.

Got a tarmac horror story? Which airline? How long? Let us know.

Passengers’ Bill Of Rights Proposed In Senate

by Jonathon Morgan on

In response to recent incidents in Texas and New York where passengers were made to wait on grounded planes for up to 11 hours, Senator Barbara Boxer is proposing a “Passengers Bill of Rights.” The bill would give passengers the right to deplane if their aircraft sits on the ground for more than three hours past the scheduled departure time.

In addition, Boxer intends for the bill to include provisions allowing passengers access to food, water and hygiene. Currently, airlines operate under a voluntary code of conduct, which stipulates only that they make “reasonable efforts” to meet these needs, even in the event of extreme delays.

A spokesman for the Air Transport Association countered by warning that “inflexible standards that would be imposed through some sort of mandatory legislation could easily have the unintended effect of inconveniencing customers more in some situations.”

For information on a grassroots effort in support of the bill, visit the Coalition for an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights blog.