More passengers’ bill of rights fun! It’s not just the Chicago City Council that’s taking a national issue local. This time it’s the Florida Senate. Pile on!
The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday endorsed Bradenton Republican Sen. Mike Bennett’s bill to force airlines to refund ticket prices or issue tickets for other flights to customers whose flights are delayed more than one hour.
It’s unclear whether the state has the authority to regulate the federally controlled airline industry, but Bennett said he filed the bill so lawmakers in Washington and the airline industry know Floridians expect better customer service when they fly.
[...]
Under Bennett’s bill, airlines would have to pay inconvenienced customers the same fee they would charge someone to cancel a flight.
For example, if customers have to pay $50 to book a later flight because they’re delayed in traffic, the airline would have to pay those customers the same $50 if the carrier delays a flight because of problems with a plane. The penalties would not apply to flights delayed because of bad weather. The bill would also require airlines to transfer tickets from one person to another.
Love it! I know this is grandstanding, and it’s likely to be struck down in court, but it’s fun to turn the tables on the airlines. Can we start doing it to banks, too, while we’re at it?
(Aside: $50 to book a later flight when you’re stuck in traffic? Most airlines have the “flat tire rule” which lets you stand by for a later flight with no penalty, but you may need to use the phrase “flat tire” to make it stick. Anyway…)
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March 16th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
I think that’s a great idea, although surely it would get struck down in Federal court.
But let me play the devil’s advocate. A lot of “late” flights are attributable to causes beyond the airline’s control: weather, air traffic delays, long lines for take-off, and these delays ripple through the entire schedule. If a 5 p.m. takeoff from one airport was late because of a delay caused by a weather problem at 7 a.m., airlines would argue successfully that they would not owe “change fees” to their customers. Most delayed passengers would never get compensation (and, indeed, airlines would start devoting a lot of time and energy to documenting the cause of delays to avoid paying fees).
And what if a small mechanical problem were discovered at 7 a.m., and the airline decided to ignore it because of the costs that would be incurred all day long as a result of repairing that problem? $50 per passenger multiplied by every passenger who will fly on that aircraft during the day would run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Would this legislating be giving airlines an incentive to just fly the plane with minor problems? Would we be creating a disincentive to maximizing aircraft safety?
Finally, I think it’s noteworthy that the most profitable airline in the US is Southwest, perhaps the only airline NOT to charge customers who change their tickets. Customers are already voting with their wallets … not that I’m a Southwest fan. Hopefully other airlines will notice, and the free market can accomplish what legislation probably could not.