Congress May Get Tough on Airlines

Now that Congress is back in session, look for a vote soon on an airline consumer protection bill--a bill of rights for travelers.

The proposed legislation, which observers believe stands a good chance of being passed by both houses, has already been approved by key House and Senate committees. Primary target of the bill is the responsibility of airlines in such areas as late departures and late arrivals, lost baggage and inflight service standards.

Many in the industry--and many travelers--believe that such a law is long overdue.

Just two weeks ago, the Department of Transportation announced rules requiring 14 major airlines to make their on-time performance figures available to the public, and to supply DOT with monthly on-time and baggage-handling reports. The DOT will be required to establish regulations setting acceptable standards of service forevery major airlines (75 flights a day or more) at each airport.

The move is unlikely, however, to prevent Congress from seriously considering the stronger, more sweeping consumer protection legislation now in the works. Representative Norman Mineta (D-Calif.), chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, called the DOT proposal “too little, too late.”

Service Gets Worse

The problem is simple: Airline service, according to a growing number of people, is worse than it has ever been. Two recent cases illustrate some of the consumer frustration.

Case No. 1:

An 80-year-old man, flying from Miami to New York City to celebrate his birthday with his son and daughter, was due to leave Miami at 11:30 a.m.

An hour before flight time, he reported to the check-in desk. His flight had been canceled.

“We’ve protected you on our flight at 5:30 p.m.,” the desk agent said. “Next customer.”

That elderly man was not a sophisticated traveler. He might, had he pushed it, been able to make somebody do something to get him on an earlier flight or put him in the first-class lounge for the six hours until his rescheduled departure.

He might have been able to get them to give him a meal voucher or transportation back to his home.

Instead, he waited. On a bench in Miami Airport for six hours.

Bags to LaGuardia

When he finally got to the gate again, the agent gave him a boarding card for a seat to John F. Kennedy Airport, but said: “By the way, your bags are going to LaGuardia. You’ll have to go there from JFK to pick them up.”

If it was explained to him why his luggage was going to an airport other than the one to which he was flying, he missed it. His daughter, who picked him up at JFK, drove him to LaGuardia to collect the luggage.

To top it off, the man’s flight back to Miami, again at about 11:30 a.m. a few days later, was canceled.

Case No. 2:

Three Londoners--husband, wife and their 22-year-old daughter--were coming to visit friends in Southern California by way of Houston. It was their first trip to the United States.

At Gatwick Airport in London, the representative of their U.S. carrier took their bags and gave them boarding cards, which apparently reflected three seats together.

Non-Existent Seats

When they boarded, there was nobody in their seats. In fact, the seats didn’t exist.

They left the plane, accompanied by a ramp agent. Three more boarding cards were issued, and this time--to their delight--there really were seats.

But an apparently disgruntled senior flight attendant quickly assured them in a very loud voice that these seats were for her and her staff. At one point she asked: “Do you think we’re going to stand all the way across the Atlantic?”

Eventually, the three were seated--one in a middle seat between two strangers, and the other two together a few rows ahead.

To get the two seats together, the flight attendant took the two passengers already sitting in the seats and moved them into the more expensive front cabin area, which includes the business and first-class sections.

The Londoners were puzzled: Since they were the ones who had been inconvenienced, why weren’t they the ones to be upgraded?

Congress Fed Up

Congress, or at least members of the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Public Works and Transportation Committee, believe that the time has come to put the air transportation industry on notice that enough is enough.

Here are some key points in the proposed legislation:

--Airlines must pay valid baggage claims within 30 days.

--Ticket refunds must be made within 30 days.

--If checked baggage is not in the hands of the passenger within two hours of arrival time, the airline must provide the passenger with a one-way, space-available ticket between the two cities flown. If the bags haven’t been delivered in 24 hours, the passenger gets a round-trip ticket, provided space is available.

None of that, of course, affects the traveler’s compensation rights should the bags be permanently lost.

Monthly Reports Required

--The DOT will require carriers to submit monthly reports on the average time its flights depart late, the reasons for the delay, the time that elapses between boarding and takeoff, etc. That information will be published by the DOT for consumer use.

--The report will be available from airline counter personnel, travel agents with automated reservations systems and the DOT.