
Airlines reject DOT report
NBC gets it right about delays - the airlines aren't doing anything about delays because their own practices are causing the delays.
Members of Congress are frequent fliers and experience the same aggravations as the rest of the flying public. Long lines, long delays, overbooking, crowded cabins, lost luggage. We've also experienced them many times over.
As we crafted the passenger-rights provisions of the new aviation bill moving through Congress, we had to restrain the impulse to take out our own frustrations with the airlines by piling on cumbersome, unworkable mandates. Our bill provides strong measures but stops short of re-regulating the industry. It honors the contract of carriage, the basic legal agreement between airlines and passengers, and places enforcement properly in the hands of the secretary of Transportation.
In drafting our legislation, we determined that one size could not fit all. Air traffic controllers, for example, told us that a firm deadline to force a plane's return to the terminal after a given number of hours could produce chaos on the ground at many airports.
Instead, we require airlines and airports to develop their own emergency plans and submit them to the Department of Transportation (DOT). The secretary would then have the power to accept, reject or require modification. The secretary would also have the power to enforce the plans, and levy fines for non-compliance.
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Our bill further requires public disclosure of these plans and a 24-hour complaint hotline. It also sets up a DOT advisory group on aviation consumer issues.
The bill, passed by the House last Thursday, takes a balanced approach. It was created in consultation with passenger-rights advocates, allowing the airlines and airports needed flexibility, holding them responsible for living up to their promises and hitting them with fines if they don't.
Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., chairs the House Subcommittee on Aviation.
Simply use our toll-free legislative hotline, at 1-866-908-5898, to be automatically connected to your Senator.
Thursday, September 20th at 4:00 p.m., the Senate Finance Committee is voting on its own proposal for FAA reauthorization. IF your Senator is a key member of this committee, please take this opportunity to speak out NOW on behalf of small businesses and towns that rely on general aviation!
The members of the Finance Committee are:
When you speak with your Senator’s office, you may want to say:
* I support the proposal put forth by Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley, which equitably funds modernization and protects the small businesses and communities that rely on general aviation by retaining our easy-to-use and efficient fuel tax system.
* Please reject amendments that would award the commercial airlines a huge tax break.
Also, please visit our website and send your Senator a letter by clicking here.
On behalf of the Alliance and the general aviation community, thank you for your help and support!
As you may know, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently introduced a version of the FAA reauthorization proposal which retains the simple and easy-to-use fuel tax system. Tomorrow, September 18th, the
This is a critical time in our fight, so please take a few minutes to call your Representative now!
When you speak with your Representative’s office, you may want to say:
* As the House Ways and Means Committee works to craft their own proposal for FAA reauthorization, I urge you to follow the common-sense approach of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which protects small businesses and communities that rely on general aviation by retaining our simple, easy-to-use fuel tax system.
* I reject any radical and unnecessary new taxes or fees on general aviation that would harm small businesses and towns, while giving the commercial airlines a huge tax break.
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Finally, it looks like some airline executives are figuring out why their flights are constantly delayed: their own airline practices. According to a New York Times article, “W. Douglas Parker, US Airways’ chief executive, said many delays could be avoided if airlines did not crowd flight departures around peak hours.”