MilesBuzz! - Air Passenger Rights Bill Back on Track

In 1999 the airlines promised to improve service and customer relations if Congress postponed action on an Air Passenger Bill of Rights. With flight delays and complaints on the rise, the Senate is taking up legislation once again.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/abc/20010129/ts/air_passenger_rights_bill_back_on_track_1.html

Hmm.

I am not sure what the answer is, but the problem is very real. I cannot imagine legislated customer service. Hmm, for instance the Post Office ?

Basic business sense tells me that over the years the airlines have learned from the marketplace that price is much more important than comfort, convenience and service. It sure is hard to imagine, though. In other industries -- take food service -- full service and fast food both thrive. It is a bit surprising that full service carriers and no-thrills carriers have not taken hold.

Unfortunately, there is very little difference in comfort, convenience and service between American Airlines and MetroJet. I wish there were. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

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Originally posted by JGill:


<snip>

It is a bit surprising that full service carriers and no-thrills carriers have not taken hold.



Based on some of my recent domestic travel experiences, I would have thought that all carriers are currently no-thrills. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Exactly my point. Very little differentiation, and I am surprised. Business travelers spend a whole lot more for weekday travel and one would expect to see an airline cater to the higher-end fare.

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More scrutiny of the industry will come Thursday at a Senate hearing on the proposed purchase by AMR Corp.'s American Airlines of Trans World Airlines.

Still, the airlines wield a fair amount of clout in Washington -- due partly to generous campaign contributions. In the most recent election cycle, the industry gave $6.5 million, a 60% increase from the 1996 presidential-election cycle and five times more than in 1992, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington watchdog group.
http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB980899522375651958.html

This is one of the real problems with the airline industry specifically and American politics in general. Isn't it amazing that the word "bribe" can be euphemized to "generous campaign contribution"?

Originally posted by doc:
Still, the airlines wield a fair amount of clout in Washington -- due partly to generous campaign contributions. In the most recent election cycle, the industry gave $6.5 million, a 60% increase from the 1996 presidential-election cycle and five times more than in 1992, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington watchdog group.
http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB980899522375651958.html



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"Sire, it is not a revolt. It is a Revolution!"

The Congress, the Transportation Department and the airlines are preparing to renew their arguments in the next few days over who is to blame for air travel delays, whether the airlines treat their passengers fairly and how a wave of mergers might affect passengers.

This week or next, the inspector general of the Transportation Department is expected to release a study, ordered by Congress last year, on how well the airlines are meeting the so-called customer service commitments they devised in 1999 to head off a passenger bill of rights threatened by several members of Congress, which would have imposed specific standards enforceable by the Transportation Department. The report is likely to show major weak spots, as a preliminary report did last summer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/29/national/29AIRL.html

The US Transportation Department's inspector general is expected to release a report in the next few days that is critical of the industry's voluntary customer-protection plan, put into effect a little more than a year ago to stave off legislation requiring changes. Several members of the Senate and House have already introduced legislation in the new Congress reviving the "passenger bill of rights," which would give travelers the right to timely, accurate information and, in one bill, the right to sue in state instead of federal court.
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?slug=airindustry02&date=20010202&query=airlines

U.S. airlines made uneven progress in their voluntary effort to boost customer service, according to a government report on Monday that recommended their promises for better service be made legally binding.

But Transportation Department Inspector General Kenneth Mead said the root cause of consumer dissatisfaction was flight delays, which have soared to record levels in the past year and are threatening to get worse in spring and summer.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010212/ts/airlines_consumer_dc_2.html

Airlines agreed to focus on customer service in June 1999 to avert congressional approval of a passenger "Bill of Rights." which would have imposed strict standards enforced by the Transportation Department.

Still, carriers maintain that the source of customer frustration isn't their service but the nation's outdated air traffic control system and inadequate airport infrastructure. Airline officials contend that the lack of infrastructure creates major capacity shortages and contributes to the delays.
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/02/982069406.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 02-13-2001).]

Airlines must do more to improve customer service, but they also need the government's help in modernizing the air traffic control system and building new runways, an airline representative told U.S. senators Tuesday.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/02/13/airlines.hearing/index.html

Appearing on CNN last month, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) complained that airlines "are a bottomless pit of excuses."

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Hmmmm! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Great, let's halt all mergers until the airlines get their acts together!

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"Sire, it is not a revolt. It is a Revolution!"

JGill, not all comparisons such as yours result in a wash. I have found, there is actually quite a lot of difference in the overall service experience in AirTran and Delta's ASA, who compete on quite a few routes head to head. AirTran is closer to what a regular airline used to be like, ASA is closer to some sketch you might see on SNL or MAD TV as "America's Worst Airline."

Seriously, a lot of it depends on what airline AND what city you spend most of your time in or through. I've had great overall luck with USAirways, but every time I run into someone who uses them out of or through PHL on a regular basis, they usually develop twitches, painful looks, and spasms as they begin to relate their experience.

It's all relative, though...

So long as G.W.Bush gets to fly AirForce1 instead of having DL #321 cancelled on him 75% of the time and getting seat 49E on the replacement flight instead of 3C as he originally booked it, nothin good's gonna happen. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

No wonder the industry is a leading congressional target this year, with nine bills introduced so far to regulate airlines.

``With every day that goes by, the airlines build a case against themselves,'' said Rep. John Sweeney (news - bio - voting record), R-N.Y., who has introduced two bills.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010303/us/congress_airlines_1.html

Actually for me, it's the high fares and the non-existent customer service...

``If you alleviate the delays and gridlock, you eliminate the No. 1 customer frustration,'' said Michael Wascom, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, the trade group for the major airlines.

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"Sire, it is not a revolt. It is a Revolution!"

(Moving travel-related threads forward to "just get on with life.")

Ed Perkins, a former editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, agrees that something needs to be done: "These airlines basically do not want to implement some of the really important things they need to do."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/kron/archive/2001/03/07/airlines.DTL

AND: Because airline delays are worse than ever, various bills are gaining momentum in Congress to protect the rights of passengers -- one would require airlines to compensate customers for late flights and cancellations. A slowdown by American Airlines' mechanics has disrupted schedules, while rocky contract negotiations between Delta Air Lines and its pilots could lead to further delays. Industry consolidation continues to raise the ire of consumer advocates. Rising fuel prices are squeezing profits. So what's a poor airline to do? Cookies, anyone?
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/11/magazine/11SALIENT.html?searchpv=site01

Beyond safety, Darbelnet urged Congress to ensure that other passenger rights are effectively addressed to help ease the anxiety, frustration and bewilderment of air travelers, including:


* Investing aviation excise taxes as intended -- to maintain and improve
the nation's air system;

* Ensuring passengers have access to the lowest possible fare regardless
of the distribution method or the technology used;

* Providing accurate and timely information regarding delays,
cancellations and diversions.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010312/dcm009.html


[This message has been edited by doc (edited 03-13-2001).]

The government should step in to clear up airport delays if airlines won't take actions such as shifting flights away from the busiest travel times, a Transportation Department official said Thursday.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Congress-Airline-Delays.html

Under pressure from federal lawmakers, airline officials agreed Thursday to look at reducing delays by rerouting some flights away from the busiest airports. Passengers could find connecting flights at less-congested airports en route to their destinations.

Edward Merlis, senior vice president of the Air Transport Association, told the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee that government incentives might be needed to encourage the airlines to shift some flights.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Congress-Airline-Delays.html

Airline officials, buffeted by criticism over delays, said Thursday they will consider having passengers make connections at less-used airports rather than overcrowded hubs and might land some planes at less-crowded nearby airports.

Lawmakers and the Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) said they
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010315/us/airline_delays_1.html

On passenger rights, co-sponsored by Arizona Republican McCain, the committee moved swiftly to approve the measure fiercely opposed by the airlines.

"The airlines' days of immunity are coming to a close," said Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and vocal critic of airline customer service.

The bill would require airlines to make recent improvements in customer service legally binding, a step the airlines have agreed to do voluntarily.

It also would force the airlines to create a system for passengers to determine the status of flight delays or cancellations before they leave for the airport. The airlines have independently agreed to do this as well.
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/03/984747201.html


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[This message has been edited by doc (edited 03-20-2001).]

Airlines aim to defeat passenger bill

Fight ensues over legislation to improve customer service
http://www.msnbc.com/news/568423.asp

Michael J. Conway, president and chief executive officer of National Airlines, voiced support for government intervention in the airline industry to increase competition, but came out strongly against a ``Passenger Bill of Rights.''

``The facts are clear: The airline industry as a whole has performed terribly in terms of cancellations, delays, communication, mishandled baggage, refunds and the overall treatment of their passengers,'' Conway said.

``Airlines certainly have the ability to improve the services they provide; unfortunately, many lack the will and the motivation to do it. The only way the service levels will improve is if the competitive playing field is leveled and consumers are able to exercise effective freedom of choice.

``While well-intentioned, a `Passenger Bill of Rights' is not the answer.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010507/0512.html

Airlines fight travel slump

Discounts offered to lure businesses
http://www.freep.com/money/business/fly19_20010519.htm

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Perhaps a "slump" will improve service?! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

YOUR RIGHTS—-AND HOW TO ENFORCE THEM

Although Congress is still dithering about whether to pass an airline passengers’ "bill of rights," and if so which one to pass,
you already have some limited rights. Government rules and airlines' conditions of carriage grant you some rights. And when an airline stonewalls you, you have the right to sue in small claims court.

http://rd.SmarterLiving.com/da062801.20

What a difference 6 months makes!

Now we have been compelled to address the really important and basic things in life and travel - and life itself! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif