"Fliers' bill of rights moves ahead"

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Fliers' bill of rights moves ahead
By Christia Gibbons
The Arizona Republic


Legislation that would require the nation's airlines to have emergency
contingency plans when flights are delayed for several hours or more is
gaining headway in Washington.

Late last week, when the House Transportation Committee released its version
of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, it included
language promoting a passengers' bill of rights.

The event marks the first time that such language has been included in both
the House and Senate versions of the FAA legislation, Rep Mike Thompson,
D-Calif., said in a news release. 

So what does all that mean for the average airline passenger? Maybe a lot. 

If the legislation moves forward, carriers would be required to have a
backup plan for providing food, water, restrooms, cabin ventilation and
medical care whenever an aircraft is stuck on the ground for three or more
hours. Additionally, passengers would be allowed to deplane at the four-hour
mark.

The federal legislation was prompted by a well-publicized incident late last
year in which hundreds of American Airlines passengers were stranded at
Austin International Airport after their flight was diverted because of bad
weather in north Texas. The passengers, who were stuck on the tarmac for up
to eight hours, banded together to form the Coalition for Airline Passengers
Bill of Rights.

The legislation, if passed as is, would also require the Department of
Transportation to collect monthly statistics on the number of diverted
flights and the length of time passengers are made to stay on board when
problems arise.

Similar efforts are already under way elsewhere.

New York legislators on June 22 passed their own passengers' bill of rights,
requiring airlines that use New York airports to basically follow the same
guidelines laid out in the federal bill.

In addition, JetBlue Airlines has instituted its own "Customer Bill of
Rights" after it was forced to delay or cancel hundreds of flights due to
bad weather earlier this year. 

JetBlue's policy allows passengers to deplane if a flight is delayed for
five hours and includes pledges to notify passengers of delays prior to
departure. It also sets criteria for providing passengers with vouchers if
flights are excessively late and makes it clear that passengers will have
access to food, beverages and restrooms in the interim.

Laura Pauelet of Phoenix said the measures are a start but that airlines can
still do more to improve their customer service, particularly when they are
rerouting passengers on flights that are canceled or delayed. 

"I'm a business traveler, and they aren't considering that how they reroute
me can adversely affect a business meeting."

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