I suppose I'm in the minority, but I'm squarely on the side of giving travelers more rights. The proposed rules don't go far enough, IMHO, but at least they're moving things in the right direction. ^

I'm especially happy that the new rules heavily penalize airlines for leaving passengers stranded aboard grounded planes for more than three hours. I'm not sure where the line should be drawn -- 3 hours will be too much in some cases and not enough in others -- but I believe it needs to be firmly drawn somewhere.

I do see the big picture. I'm not unaware that these rights come at a cost, even perhaps a signficant one. But I'd rather pay the cost of a cancelled flight vs. being stuck on the tarmac for 12 hours. As I said, I know I'm in the minority on this point, but it's worth stating that not every frequent flier sees the new rules as a Bad Thing.