McCain Seeks Law to Improve Airline Service

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday that he will introduce legislation aimed at elevating the level of airline service.

The legislation would put in place recommendations made in a Department of Transportation inspector general’s report. The report “finds that the airlines are still deficient in many of these areas of basic customer service,” McCain said at a hearing of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which he leads. “This causes me great concern.”

Consumer complaints quadrupled to more than 23,000 in 2000 from 1995, the report said. Delays climbed 20% and major carriers had an on-time rate of 72.6% last year, the worst in the six years the department has kept such data.

Carriers will oppose the bill because a voluntary effort to improve customer service encourages airlines to be more competitive and creative in making improvements, said Carol Hallett, president of the Air Transport Assn., a group that includes major airlines such as UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc.

Details of McCain’s proposal weren’t immediately available, said spokeswoman Pia Pialorsi.

At the hearing, Department of Transportation Inspector General Kenneth Mead urged lawmakers to be cautious, saying, “I would try to stay away from trying to legislate good service.”

Some areas in which airlines need to improve, such as disclosing chronically delayed flights and frequent-flier rules, lend themselves to regulation, Mead said. Other areas do not, such as deciding when a plane delayed on the runway should return to the gate and let passengers off, he said.