How Congress can help fliers know your rights
Nothing is more upsetting to the airline industry than customers who know their rights.
Every time Congress or federal officials press to provide more accessible information to fliers, the industry and its lobbyists swat down the idea. And mostly, they win. Could it be the $50 million the industry has lavished on federal campaigns since 1990?
Now Congress has another chance after United Airlines’ recent fiasco — dragging passenger David Dao off a flight in full view of the world. At a House hearing Tuesday, lawmakers grilled airline executives from United, Alaska, American and Southwest about “customer service,” and threatened to take action if the airlines fail to improve. On Thursday, senators will have their turn to roast United’s president.
Let’s hope that this time, unlike the past, the promise of change isn’t an empty one. Airlines don’t need regulation to prevent a repeat of the Dao incident. Horrendous publicity took care of that. The best thing Congress could do is to pass laws that provide fliers with information about their rights, which are buried in federal regulations or airline “contracts of carriage,” long, complex documents written by lawyers for lawyers. United’s runs more than 37,000 words.
Think what might have been avoided if passengers on United Express Flight 3411 knew they were entitled to up to $1,350 for being bumped from a flight. Before United had Dao dragged off, other passengers might have clamored to take the cash.
But only the savviest of travelers know this rule. And they can’t count on airlines to inform them.
Last year, after an undercover operation in which Transportation Department investigators posed as travelers, four major airlines — Alaska, American, Southwest and United — were caught providing inaccurate information about compensation for lost bags and bumping. All four were fined.
Airports in the European Union manage the feat by prominently displaying posters with simple language describing important consumer rights, for instance, above luggage carousels. It would be easy to do the same here. There are only a handful of important rights, including a requirement that airlines pay up to $3,500 for lost or damaged luggage and compensate passengers for bumping. Rights could also appear on itineraries or boarding passes. Democratic senators have proposed just such a measure.
But airlines prefer less informed customers, and they’re willing to go to the Supreme Court to keep them that way. In 2012, rules proposed by the Obama Transportation Department required airlines and travel websites to include taxes and fees in total fares upfront. It helped fliers compare costs with ease, at least until they ran into add-ons for checked bags, legroom and other “amenities.” The rule survived challenges all the way up to the nation’s highest court.
Now the industry is battling a 2014 Obama administration proposal to expand price transparency again by putting bag- and seat-upgrade fees upfront in the posted fares on travel websites.
What fliers need most is accessible information, whether it’s about myriad fees or their rights. Customers are smart. Armed with knowledge, they can protect themselves and hold airlines to higher standards.