Since I travel for a living, this story is personal. Because of weather and overbooking, it took me 19 hours on two airlines and four takeoffs and landings to travel from the hotel in Erie, PA I was at last Saturday to my home in Vegas. I’m heading back there today. Wish me luck.
US airlines reject call for passenger protection
The largest US airlines on Thursday reiterated their opposition to any legislative moves to provide passengers with guaranteed protection in the event of delays caused by poor weather such as those which befell JetBlue customers last week.
JetBlue, a fast-growing New York-based carrier, introduced a “passenger bill of rights” this week in an effort to repair reputational damage after an ice storm led to the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights and the stranding of passengers on aircraft for up to 10 hours.
However, the Air Transport Association, the industry’s main lobby group, called for the continuation of the self-regulating code of conduct introduced in 1999, which allows individual airlines to set their own procedures for dealing with extreme weather delays.
Well, the headline is not exactly borne out by the article excerpt – but I’ve flow enough to know you’re right.
The main thing I wanted to add was that an industry not being bailed out to the tune of b-b-billions would perhaps have to care more about what their customers thought. When a sector acts as if the people who give them money are encumbrances or patsies, growth is not likely to follow.
What do you mean? We’ve had regulated passenger rights for over 2 years now!
Eu Passenger rights
Oh, you’re flying from the US to the US? Well, next time fly through any European city!
😉
Horizon Air and Alaska Air would be put out of business the first day something like this went into effect.
Maybe thats a good thing though…..
That crappy airline code from 1999 is worth about as much as a tobacco industry health code, wee notes about “responsible” drinking from booze distributors — and just about any promise from some lawyer running for office.
The largest US airlines on Thursday reiterated their opposition to any legislative moves to provide passengers with guaranteed protection in the event of delays caused by poor weather such as those which befell JetBlue customers last week.
Let me just edit that for accuracy…
The largest US airlines on Thursday reiterated their opposition to any legislative moves that would make them responsible to passengers with guaranteed protection in the event that they completely screw over customers. After all, business is not in the business of actually providing the services that they sell to customers.
Yet another tax payer supported industry.
Make em pay back the gifts from the G for 9/11 or better yet have them pay their pension obligations!
One simple step – forbidding them to sell more tickets than they have seats – would go far to ending passenger hatred of the airlines. People will forgive weather delays (at least sane people will) but overbooking with the foreknowledge that some ticketed passengers will be left standing at the gate ought to be illegal. I simply won’t fly on any U.S. airline I know intentionally overbooks and treats its passengers like prisoners in a county jail bus. (Mutters imprecations at Alaska Airlines.)
This will never fly (pun intended), because those with power and wealth never fly commercial anyway. They have no real idea what the rest of us go through to travel by air.
Food, water and toilets? It certainly says a lot about the state of the airline industry, when they have to be forced by Congress to provide passengers with basic services which are routinely afforded to prisoners.
I hate flying these days. I feel like a prisoner.
Once in the summer I was stuck on a runway for over 3 hours. It was 90 degrees outside and they were not bringing in fresh air. I have asthma, towards the end I hat trouble breathing and came very close to passing out.
I always take food and water on the plane because you never know how long you will be stranded without it.
The way the airlines treat their customers is a disincentive to fly.
I remember the good old days of flying, when the stewardesses were hot (thats right, STEWARDESSES), the food edible and people smoked and drank like they were in a Vegas Casino. Even with the smoking it was fun.