New York passes passenger bill of rights
It’s official: New York governor Eliot Spitzer signed a passengers’ bill of rights, which kicks in January 1 for flights grounded for three or more hours at New York airports. Note that the law won’t require airlines to allow people off the planes after three hours. Rather, it will require that the airline keep the toilets clean and the beverages flowing — thereby creating a roundabout requirement for airlines to link back up to the terminal. Lawsuits will fly. Pass the popcorn.
But the fact that this is a local law, and not a federal one, is absurd. Will we now need a separate contract of carriage for every possible way station on our trips? I’m all for states taking the initiative when the federal government won’t act (think California emissions), but laws like this one or the Chicago bill just indicate how broken the system is, from top to bottom. Those “customer service plans” that the airlines have offered up as a self-regulation alternative haven’t done the job, and Congress hasn’t acted quickly enough to address the systemic problems — air traffic control as well as passenger rights. We’ll see if this lights a fire under the collective asses of our legislative branch.
How to make Amtrak fun again: Free booze!
Drunken passengers are happy passengers. So says Amtrak, which is offering $100 in free drink vouchers for long-haul sleeper car trips. Sponsored in part by “Night Train”?
Virgin America debuts tomorrow
Tomorrow is Virgin America’s first flight. Anyone out there flying them on day one? (or heck, week one?) Hit the comments and tell the tale!
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August 8th, 2007 at 10:14 am
No, it’s simpler than that. The feds (FAA or DoT most likely) will sue to stop the New York law from being enforced. After all, there is longstanding precedent for federal law trumping state law.
August 8th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
As a matter of fact, one of our contributors is on the Virgin America flight right now. All the coverage is at Jaunted.
August 8th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
[...] So, what does all this mean? Well, it means you can still get stuck on the tarmac at JFK for seven hours, but at least you’ll have some peanuts and a working bathroom while you wait. It also means that the states are having to take up the charge where the federal government should be leading. New York is the first to go ahead with a passenger bill of rights, but it’s a bill that still seems quite toothless. It doesn’t demand compensation or explain the rules of overbooking, and it doesn’t have the weight of Washington behind it. The whole situation was summed up perfectly over at Upgrade: Travel Better: [...]
August 9th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Yeah. I’m not sure it will stand. It’s just like how the feds are suing California for imposing harsher fuel economy standards on the grounds of non-uniformity.
August 11th, 2007 at 7:08 am
Re: Virgin America, I am eager to see how service is. Price is right: $260 for R/T btw NYC and LAX with a good schedule.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
[...] So, what does all this mean? Well, it means you can still get stuck on the tarmac at JFK for seven hours, but at least you’ll have some peanuts and a working bathroom while you wait. It also means that the states are having to take up the charge where the federal government should be leading. New York is the first to go ahead with a passenger bill of rights, but it’s a bill that still seems quite toothless. It doesn’t demand compensation or explain the rules of overbooking, and it doesn’t have the weight of Washington behind it. The whole situation was summed up perfectly over at Upgrade: Travel Better: [...]