Passenger Rights Crash-Land

How things work in Washington: Damage Control 101.

Remember the outrage expressed by airline passengers earlier this year, culminating at the time of some late-winter storms? Complaints about everything from unexplained and unannounced delays to baggage snafus and byzantine ticket price structures. The most memorable horror story involved passengers stuck on a plane outside a Detroit terminal for hours, without food, water or a functioning toilet.

The collective outcry was so loud that Congress produced a spate of legislative proposals designed around the concept of a passenger bill of rights. So, what is turning the major Senate bill into a feeble compromise, a voluntary improvement program designed and enforced by the airlines? An intense campaign by the airlines, of course.

By May, the industry had recovered and had begun to wage a multimillion-dollar lobbying blitz to head off or delay the congressional bills. Airline lobbyists patrolled Capitol Hill in groups to make their point. The industry mobilized labor unions and sent employees on a massive letter-writing campaign to lobby members of Congress. Continental Airlines employees alone reportedly sent out 10,000 letters. The brief blaze of legislative consumerism was effectively doused.

Meanwhile, the Air Transport Assn., the Washington point group for the major airlines, raised the anti-regulation flag and unveiled the airlines’ “customer service” package. Among other things, the airlines promised to better inform passengers about fares and flight delays; answer written complaints within 60 days; inform passengers of the lowest fares available; provide prompt ticket refunds and be better hosts during runway delays. The bill now in the Senate carries a requirement that the Transportation Department ensure that airlines comply with the voluntary plan; obviously you cannot ensure compliance with a voluntary plan.

The result for the consumer: promises of better treatment but not much real change. If passengers needed a lesson on how the wheels are greased in the nation’s Capitol, this one is comprehensive.