Unhappy Fliers Have Congress' Ear
04-22-2007, 12:29 AM
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Unhappy Fliers Have Congress' Ear (Article)
Unhappy fliers have Congress' ear
NEW RULES URGED
By Bob Dart
Cox News Service
Article Last Updated: 04/21/2007 03:08:55 PM MDT
Washington - Airlines have not kept their promises to protect passengers from travel horrors, so Congress may need to set federal standards for customer service, the top Transportation Department investigator told a House subcommittee Friday.
During the first two months of 2007, nearly one-third of commercial flights were delayed, canceled or diverted, testified Calvin Scovel, the department's inspector general.
Some flights leave late so often that just advertising their departure time may "constitute a deceptive business practice," Scovel told the aviation subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
In February, for instance, US Airways Flight 154 from Philadelphia to San Francisco was late 100 percent of the time, and JetBlue Airways Flight 76 from West Palm Beach, Fla., to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport was late 96 percent of the time.
Even after such well- publicized inconveniences as the flight delay in Austin, Texas, that left passengers stuck on a runway for nine hours in an American Airlines jet, some airlines have not defined what constitutes an "extended period of time" for meeting the needs of onboard customers, Scovel said. Others have set limits ranging from one to five hours, he said.
"We think it is unlikely that a passenger's definition of an extended period of time will vary depending upon which airline they are flying," Scovel said.
After an earlier outcry from passengers stuck for hours on a snowbound jetliner in Chicago, airlines said legislation was not needed and they would solve the problems themselves, he noted.
"Given the problems that customers continue to face with airline customer service, Congress may want to consider making (consumer customer service standards) mandatory for all airlines," Scovel said.
Airline industry officials told the panel that legislation is not needed. Most of the problems are caused by weather, they said, and federal mandates would create more problems than they solve.
"I don't think Congress can legislate good weather or the best way to respond to bad weather," said James May, president of the Air Transport Association of America, the main trade group.
No patience left
Even though JetBlue has adopted a voluntary "customer bill of rights," the airline's chief executive testified against the government's imposing such standards.
"The best intentions can have bad consequences," said David Neeleman, cautioning that what works for one airline or at one airport might not work at others.
But several committee members said their patience was exhausted in waiting for voluntary measures to work.
"Unless the industry addresses this and addresses it now, there is going to be legislative action," warned Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., the subcommittee chairman.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., predicted Congress will "set a floor for customer protection" that would mandate at least a minimum standard of treatment for airline passengers.
Scovel, who has been leading an investigation of airline treatment of customers, criticized the Transportation Department as well as the carriers. While the federal agency has made progress in enforcing civil rights violations by the airlines, he said, "it needs to improve its oversight of consumer protection laws."
The economics of the industry have contributed to customer complaints, he said. To cut costs and fill seats, the industry reduced its scheduled flight capacity from 8.1 million seats in 2000 to 7.6 million in 2006, he said. Meanwhile, more people were flying.
"Reduced capacity and increased demand led to fuller flights," he said, which was good for airline economics, but not necessarily for customer satisfaction.
"Reduced capacity and higher load factors can result in increased passenger inconvenience and dissatisfaction with customer service," he testified.
"With more seats filled, air carriers have fewer options to accommodate passengers from canceled flights."
For example, when unexpected storms led to many flights being canceled over the Saint Patrick's Day weekend, May said, it had a "cascading effect." Passengers on canceled flights couldn't get seats on subsequent flights that were already booked solid.
I bet you pilots on the line will soon see some sort of mandatory delay program on how you will have to now be in charge of Customer Service in order to placate the passengers when you can't get a gate and are stuck in your plane for hours sitting on the ground, because the airlines refuse to hire more workers to get the planes out on time in the first place.
I can see it already . . If you are going to be delayed tell the pax. Inform them that you will be at the gate shortly. When delay is excessive (who knows what that number will be . . .probably 3-4 hours for United and NWA and an hour for SWA) you will have to call and "Please, Please" ask for a gate . . . When they tell you that no gate is available, you'll probably be asked to come up with a solution because you are just sitting there doing nothing . . .
NEW RULES URGED
By Bob Dart
Cox News Service
Article Last Updated: 04/21/2007 03:08:55 PM MDT
Washington - Airlines have not kept their promises to protect passengers from travel horrors, so Congress may need to set federal standards for customer service, the top Transportation Department investigator told a House subcommittee Friday.
During the first two months of 2007, nearly one-third of commercial flights were delayed, canceled or diverted, testified Calvin Scovel, the department's inspector general.
Some flights leave late so often that just advertising their departure time may "constitute a deceptive business practice," Scovel told the aviation subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
In February, for instance, US Airways Flight 154 from Philadelphia to San Francisco was late 100 percent of the time, and JetBlue Airways Flight 76 from West Palm Beach, Fla., to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport was late 96 percent of the time.
Even after such well- publicized inconveniences as the flight delay in Austin, Texas, that left passengers stuck on a runway for nine hours in an American Airlines jet, some airlines have not defined what constitutes an "extended period of time" for meeting the needs of onboard customers, Scovel said. Others have set limits ranging from one to five hours, he said.
"We think it is unlikely that a passenger's definition of an extended period of time will vary depending upon which airline they are flying," Scovel said.
After an earlier outcry from passengers stuck for hours on a snowbound jetliner in Chicago, airlines said legislation was not needed and they would solve the problems themselves, he noted.
"Given the problems that customers continue to face with airline customer service, Congress may want to consider making (consumer customer service standards) mandatory for all airlines," Scovel said.
Airline industry officials told the panel that legislation is not needed. Most of the problems are caused by weather, they said, and federal mandates would create more problems than they solve.
"I don't think Congress can legislate good weather or the best way to respond to bad weather," said James May, president of the Air Transport Association of America, the main trade group.
No patience left
Even though JetBlue has adopted a voluntary "customer bill of rights," the airline's chief executive testified against the government's imposing such standards.
"The best intentions can have bad consequences," said David Neeleman, cautioning that what works for one airline or at one airport might not work at others.
But several committee members said their patience was exhausted in waiting for voluntary measures to work.
"Unless the industry addresses this and addresses it now, there is going to be legislative action," warned Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., the subcommittee chairman.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., predicted Congress will "set a floor for customer protection" that would mandate at least a minimum standard of treatment for airline passengers.
Scovel, who has been leading an investigation of airline treatment of customers, criticized the Transportation Department as well as the carriers. While the federal agency has made progress in enforcing civil rights violations by the airlines, he said, "it needs to improve its oversight of consumer protection laws."
The economics of the industry have contributed to customer complaints, he said. To cut costs and fill seats, the industry reduced its scheduled flight capacity from 8.1 million seats in 2000 to 7.6 million in 2006, he said. Meanwhile, more people were flying.
"Reduced capacity and increased demand led to fuller flights," he said, which was good for airline economics, but not necessarily for customer satisfaction.
"Reduced capacity and higher load factors can result in increased passenger inconvenience and dissatisfaction with customer service," he testified.
"With more seats filled, air carriers have fewer options to accommodate passengers from canceled flights."
For example, when unexpected storms led to many flights being canceled over the Saint Patrick's Day weekend, May said, it had a "cascading effect." Passengers on canceled flights couldn't get seats on subsequent flights that were already booked solid.
I bet you pilots on the line will soon see some sort of mandatory delay program on how you will have to now be in charge of Customer Service in order to placate the passengers when you can't get a gate and are stuck in your plane for hours sitting on the ground, because the airlines refuse to hire more workers to get the planes out on time in the first place.
I can see it already . . If you are going to be delayed tell the pax. Inform them that you will be at the gate shortly. When delay is excessive (who knows what that number will be . . .probably 3-4 hours for United and NWA and an hour for SWA) you will have to call and "Please, Please" ask for a gate . . . When they tell you that no gate is available, you'll probably be asked to come up with a solution because you are just sitting there doing nothing . . .
Last edited by Ellen; 04-22-2007 at 12:46 AM. Reason: words
04-22-2007, 12:56 AM
#2
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Joined APC: Apr 2006
Posts: 657
Airlines using deceptive business practices? What?
Late flights raise ire at hearing
Feds are looking into whether airlines are masking the problem
Feds are looking into whether airlines are masking the problem
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, April 21, 2007
By SUDEEP REDDY / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]
WASHINGTON – The Transportation Department is taking aim at deceptive scheduling practices by some airlines, targeting carriers that operate chronically delayed flights and mask the problems to passengers.
A Bush administration official disclosed the inquiry at a House aviation hearing Friday, after lawmakers lashed out about lax oversight and penalties against carriers with long-running customer service problems.
The Transportation Department says it's in proceedings with eight airlines to assess whether they properly report on-time performance statistics upon customer request, as is required. The latest investigation would look at the larger question of whether airlines are presenting unrealistic schedules to passengers.
"We want to understand ... how it is possible that a flight could be late 70 or 80 percent of the time and actually not disclose that inadequate rate to the customer," said Andrew Steinberg, assistant secretary of transportation for aviation and international affairs.
Lawmakers took on the industry after months of pressure from passenger and consumer groups to enact an airline passenger bill of rights that would require carriers to let passengers off a grounded plane.
Complaints followed several high-profile cases of passengers being stranded inside planes parked for six hours or more at airports in Texas and New York.
Weather disruptions created some of the biggest customer service disasters for Fort Worth-based American Airlines Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. American, which diverted 121 flights during a Dec. 29 storm, issued apologies and vouchers to thousands of customers and changed some of its policies.
JetBlue also compensated passengers and created its own customer bill of rights. But JetBlue founder David Neeleman appealed to lawmakers not to create new rules because they could cause even more problems during bad weather.
In 1999, the airline industry fought off lawmakers' efforts to enact a bill of rights by offering a voluntary plan. Some of the initiatives were carried out before attention turned to the industry's security and financial crises after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The number of scheduled flights has dropped to 7.6 million last year from 8.1 million in 2000. At the same time, the number of passengers increased 7 percent, Calvin Scovel, the Transportation Department's inspector general, said in his testimony.
That capacity reduction, combined with higher demand, is expected to put more pressure on the industry this summer.
In the first two months of this year, almost a third of all flights were delayed, canceled or diverted, Mr. Scovel said. Last year, it was about 23 percent.
Mr. Scovel said carriers should tell passengers during booking, without being asked, that a flight has been consistently delayed – for 30 minutes or more – or canceled at least 40 percent of the time the previous month. Airlines now are required to disclose on-time performance only on request.
After retaking Congress, some Democratic lawmakers appear to be showing less patience for what they see as unmet promises by the industry and oversight failures by the Transportation Department and Federal Aviation Administration.
Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., who chairs the House Transportation Committee, recalled a hearing a decade ago that revealed 57 flights were regularly scheduled for departure at 7 a.m. from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
"No airport in the world could depart 57 flights at the same time," he said. "I sign up for a 7 o'clock flight knowing it's not going to leave until 8? Baloney."
Committee leaders warned airlines that if they don't demonstrate improvements in the coming months, other lawmakers might use the consumer backlash to propose rules.
"Unless the industry addresses this and addresses it now, there is going to be congressional action," said Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., chairman of the House aviation subcommittee. "There is no question about it."
04-22-2007, 02:16 AM
#3
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Joined APC: Feb 2005
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Originally Posted by Ellen
I can see it already . . If you are going to be delayed tell the pax. Inform them that you will be at the gate shortly. When delay is excessive (who knows what that number will be . . .probably 3-4 hours for United and NWA and an hour for SWA) you will have to call and "Please, Please" ask for a gate . . . When they tell you that no gate is available, you'll probably be asked to come up with a solution because you are just sitting there doing nothing . . .
Of course you have to be vague, I don't use flight numbers or mention that the pilot even works for our company (you off line jumpseaters know who you are!).
04-22-2007, 05:46 AM
#4
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Joined APC: Nov 2006
Posts: 259
This has been coming for a while now. The customer service at most airlines is laughable, and the worst part is that they don't seem to care. "Give us our money, sit down and shut up!" We as pilots then wonder why the flying public doesn't have much sympathy when we start complaining about our small (to us) salaries. I'm a pilot, and I refuse to fly airlines if I can drive to my destination in around ten hours. I know many who feel the same way. I realize that it is not the fault of the pilots is most cases, but the flight crew are the ones who are in the direct line of sight of the passengers, and therefore take the brunt of the attitude.
The comment in the last article about "57 aircraft being scheduled to depart at 7:00" is hilarious, as it identifies the lack of concern and honesty that the airlines portray. Airline management has been able to run amuck over the past years, and regulation is just another way to reel them back in, if they cannot be reponsible enough to police themselves.
Legislation will not have much problem going through, as the public is sick of being treated this way. This is evident by the amount of growth in the fractional and charter world.
VT
The comment in the last article about "57 aircraft being scheduled to depart at 7:00" is hilarious, as it identifies the lack of concern and honesty that the airlines portray. Airline management has been able to run amuck over the past years, and regulation is just another way to reel them back in, if they cannot be reponsible enough to police themselves.
Legislation will not have much problem going through, as the public is sick of being treated this way. This is evident by the amount of growth in the fractional and charter world.
VT
04-24-2007, 10:37 AM
#5
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Joined APC: Apr 2006
Posts: 657
It amazes me that there are only two responses to this and only a couple hundred views . . . This is the prime reason PILOTS and ALPA and other unions are not making progress.
I posted a real time example that is happening "NOW." The TIMING is perfect to piggyback the pilot message onto this current consumer uproar. YET . . . . as this board suggests, pilots really don't seem to care about what passengers think, just like airline management doesn't care what pilots think. Quite frankly it's pretty hypocritical.
Maybe it's just me, but "The Deer is in the crosshairs" and we are doing nothing about it. Is it that the idea of driving home our concerns to congress NOW is to far fetched for you all? Is it that you are scared to comment? Is it that you really don't care one way or another? Is it that Congress seems untouchable? What? I'm curious.
I posted a real time example that is happening "NOW." The TIMING is perfect to piggyback the pilot message onto this current consumer uproar. YET . . . . as this board suggests, pilots really don't seem to care about what passengers think, just like airline management doesn't care what pilots think. Quite frankly it's pretty hypocritical.
Maybe it's just me, but "The Deer is in the crosshairs" and we are doing nothing about it. Is it that the idea of driving home our concerns to congress NOW is to far fetched for you all? Is it that you are scared to comment? Is it that you really don't care one way or another? Is it that Congress seems untouchable? What? I'm curious.
04-24-2007, 11:55 AM
#7
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Posts: 534
Originally Posted by Ellen
It amazes me that there are only two responses to this and only a couple hundred views . . . This is the prime reason PILOTS and ALPA and other unions are not making progress.
I posted a real time example that is happening "NOW." The TIMING is perfect to piggyback the pilot message onto this current consumer uproar. YET . . . . as this board suggests, pilots really don't seem to care about what passengers think, just like airline management doesn't care what pilots think. Quite frankly it's pretty hypocritical.
Maybe it's just me, but "The Deer is in the crosshairs" and we are doing nothing about it. Is it that the idea of driving home our concerns to congress NOW is to far fetched for you all? Is it that you are scared to comment? Is it that you really don't care one way or another? Is it that Congress seems untouchable? What? I'm curious.
I posted a real time example that is happening "NOW." The TIMING is perfect to piggyback the pilot message onto this current consumer uproar. YET . . . . as this board suggests, pilots really don't seem to care about what passengers think, just like airline management doesn't care what pilots think. Quite frankly it's pretty hypocritical.
Maybe it's just me, but "The Deer is in the crosshairs" and we are doing nothing about it. Is it that the idea of driving home our concerns to congress NOW is to far fetched for you all? Is it that you are scared to comment? Is it that you really don't care one way or another? Is it that Congress seems untouchable? What? I'm curious.
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