Proposed DOT rules stengthen air travelers’ rights in many ways

Jun 05

Proposed DOT rules stengthen air travelers’ rights in many ways

When U.S. Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood recently put forth proposed rules to greatly strengthen passenger rights in the United States, media attention focused on higher compensation for passengers who are bumped from flights against their will and delayed in arriving at their destinations.

The new rules would raise the current limits for shorter delays from $400 to $650, and for longer delays from to $800 to $1,300.

However, the proposal encompasses an array of other consumer protections:

• Allowing passengers to make and cancel reservations within 24 hours without penalty

• Banning the practice of post-purchase price increases

• Requiring airlines to disclose all add-on fees (such as checked baggage fees) through their Web sites, reservations systems, and travel agency partners

• Mandating refunds and expense reimbursement when baggage is not delivered on time

• Enforcing “full-fare advertising” so airlines and ticket sellers must post the total cost of a ticket—including taxes and fees.

In addition, the proposed rules would beef up the DOT’s tarmac-delay policies in several ways:

• Strengthening requirements that airlines promptly notify passengers about flight delays and cancellations.

• Expanding the tarmac-delay contingency plans to include additional airports and foreign airlines

• Requiring smaller and foreign carriers to report tarmac delays, and requiring the largest airlines to report tarmac delays not only on scheduled domestic flights but also on scheduled international and charter flights as well

• Establishing standards for customer service plans, requiring airlines to disseminate them to passengers, and extending these provisions to foreign as well as U.S. airlines. Also, foreign airlines would be required to respond to consumer problems for the first time.

Finally, the DOT is soliciting comments on how best to address peanut allergies onboard commercial aircraft, through four potential provisions: 1) a total peanut ban on all domestic and foreign airlines within the U.S.; 2) a ban on flights in which allergic passengers have notified the airline in advance; 3) a “peanut-free buffer zone” near allergic passengers; or 4) not imposing any restrictions.

The new proposals follow a DOT rule LaHood announced last December, which prohibited aircraft operating domestic flights from remaining on the tarmac for more than three hours without deplaning passengers, and imposed other requirements for tarmac delays.

Consumers can weigh in with comments on these proposals through early August. Click here for further information on these proposals and how you can file comments.— William J. McGee

McGee was recently named by Secretary LaHood to the DOT’s Future of Aviation Advisory Committee; further information is available at www.dot.gov/faac.

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