Well, it's certainly at the top of MY complaint list!! The least they could do is give us cashews when we don't get an upgrade!!

What I am proposing is no different than shipping with UPS or the USPS.

Note I did not say it should not be free. I said they had to accept responsibility. They could easily drop the limit for compensation to a say $500 and accept liability for everything. If you are traveling with crap worth more than it is your responsibility to either have trip insurance for your crap or "self" insure it. As I say it is no different than shipping with UPS or the USPS.

This is an excellent point. The optimal approach is similar to Fedex in my mind: if the value of your items exceed the liability coverage the carrier provides then you should be able to purchase insurance to cover the remainder of the difference between your estimated value and the liability coverage provided by the airline - if you so desire. This way the cost of the absurd claims of value are not borne by all travelers.

And ... this already exists in the form of travel insurance, available to everyone. Just have to find your preferred policy from the multitude of underwriters.

Transferring the liability to a third party does nothing to incentivize DL management to improve their baggage handling practices.

Thanks, that is what I was trying but failed to say. So if they had to be response for all items up to a certain value then perhaps we would not see as many thefts as well as fewer damaged bags. But on the other hand there should be a reasonable limit.

So you are willing to place all responsibility on the airline (not just DL) even though they do not and can not control who has access to the bag through the entire process of transporting the bag (TSA for example)

I'm sure that every airline in the industry would agree to this as well if they could away with limiting all claims to $100 or less like UPS does without additional insurance.

Another irritating thing about the "Change of equipment" direct flights is that the Delta web site cannot deal with seat assignments for two different segments with the same flight number.

Probably doesn't warrant a DOT complaint, but irritating nonetheless.

So you are willing to place all responsibility on the PAX even though they do not and can not control who has access to the bag through the entire process of transporting the bag (TSA for example)?

An area that needs to be addressed is code shares. The rules/fees for a code share should not be allowed to be different then on the ticketing carrier, i.e., if DL doesn't charge me a baggage fee then the code share partner should not be able to if I buy the ticket from DL. If delta charges a fee, the code share should not be higher. If my status lets me choose seats, stand by for earlier flights, earn qualifying miles, etc., I should have the same rights on the code share if I buy the ticket from DL.

Given the way the system is set up now.....in a word yes.

Don't put valuables in your bag, if you do assume it will be stolen and you will never be able to prove who stole it. What is covered and not covered is clearly spelled out before you fly.

Use a lock on your bag.....

etc,etc, etc.

Let's position it in a way I think the DOT will find it actionable (sales practices). Maybe say something like:

Consumers are blind sided by fees that are not disclosed at time of booking when a code share is involved. Because of the nature of codeshares there is a complex and difficult to understand sequence of who's fees apply. Often the first carrier for the days travel apply.

It is not usual for a consumer to pay no fees on the leg out of the US including a connection with a foreign code share partner. However, on the return leg the foreign carrier's fees would apply and be collected.

At time of sale a code share doesn't disclose a different set of fees apply. Although airlines have become quite sophisticated advising the customers on the day of travel. Often they are able to alert the customer of who and where to check-in with. That same technology should be applied to disclosing fees.

What does a proposed prohibition on "post-purchase price increases" mean?

Surely this doesn't mean that airlines wouldn't be able to charge more for a flight as it gets closer to the date of travel?

Update: Nevermind. I see what it is: http://www.consumertraveler.com/toda...-buy-a-ticket/

If you are paying the airline to transport a bag, your contract is with the airline and only with the airline. If the airline allows TSA unsupervised access to your baggage, that should be the airline's liability, and the airline can take it up with TSA.

As soon as the airlines have no easy way to pass the buck & shrug off their liability, they'll clean up their act.