Airline Related Issues Tops Consumer Complaints

The U.S. Tour Operators Association released an "informal" member survey this week that cited airline related issues as the main source of travelers complaints.

"The association -- whose members send 11 million people on vacation yearly -- reported that over 70% of responding tour operators cited airline problems as the most common complaint, followed by money-related issues, reported by 20% of members."

Issues with delays and cancelations topped the list this year, and poor customer service was also cited as issues of customer complaints.

In a distant second were money related issues-such air fare, and added fees for services, which shows that passengers are more concerned with their safety and arriving to their destinations on time, instead of being stranded on the tarmac.

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The Alliance for Aviation Across America will attend the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 7th Annual Aviation Summit

The Alliance for Aviation Across America is pleased to announce that it will attend the 7th Annual Aviation Summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Chamber Foundation, and CIT Aerospace. This event will take place on April 3, 2008 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C.

Aviation's New Flight Plan: Innovation, Adaptation, and Consolidation. To view more information, visit the event website at: www.uschamber.com/aviationsummit

Confirmed speakers include:
Dave Barger, Chief Executive Officer, JetBlue
Bob Bergman, Vice President of Corporate Public Affairs, UPS
Monte Belger, Vice President, Transportation Systems Solutions, Lockheed Martin Corporation
Jens Bischof, Vice President for the Americas, Deutsche Lufthansa AG
Alan Epstein, Vice President, Technology and Environment, Pratt & Whitney
Ed Bolen, Chief Executive Officer, National Business Aviation Association, Inc
Michael Lewis, Director, Air Traffic Management, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Charles Leader, Director, NexGen Joint Planning and Development Office
Greg Principato, President, Airports Council International, North America
Nancy Young, Vice President, Environmental Affairs, Air Transport Association

This year's summit will explore key issues facing the aviation industry including global trends, the economic impacts of consolidation, energy efficiency, environmental concerns, and technological innovations.

Airlines Set Traffic Record Last Year

2007 was the year of the airline delay...and the full plane. Airlines carried 769.4 million domestic and international passengers in 2007, a 3.3% increase from the year prior. This coincided with the 2nd worst year for airline delays.

Planes were nearly 80% full on average over the year.

BusinessWeek breaks down the numbers and discusses the problems with Southwest Airlines in their article HERE.

Organizations sign letter urging reauthorization legislation

Thrity-five different organizations signed a letter on Tuesday urging the Senate to pass a long-term FAA reuthorization bill before the June 30th deadline. The coalition stated: "It is critical for Congress to recognize how important aviation is to our economy and to complete the FAA reauthorization process."

Signers of the letter included the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Conference of State Legislatures, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, American Association of Airport Executives, National Business Aviation Association, Air Line Pilots Association, Airport Consultants Council, Aerospace Industries Association, Air Carrier Association of America, National Association of State Aviation Officials, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, National Air Transport Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and the Cargo Airline Association.

Read the article HERE.

Airline Service, A la carte

As general aviation pilots know, the airlines have working to use the FAA Reauthorization bills to give themselves a tax break. At the same time, they are stranding passengers, delaying flights, and overscheduling airports to the point that operations grind to a halt. Showing more disregard for passengers, select airlines are now charging $25 for a second bag - one that used to be free.

The Arizona Republic looked at the ways many airlines are nickel and dimeing passengers for each little component of their journey.

"United charges for seats with extra leg room. It costs passengers $5 extra to book a flight on US Airways' Web site. Northwest charges $25 for certain passengers to fly standby. Southwest offers priority boarding to its business-select passengers, for a fee."

Read the rest of the article HERE.

Passenger complaints about flights up 75.6% since 2007

It appears that the Airlines' are taking their passengers on more than just a ride as passengers complaints in the first month of this year rose to over 74% compared to this time last year. The study, conducted monthy by the bureau of transportation statistics finds that "overall complaints about flights, customer service and other problems rose 75.6 percent, the government said Tuesday."

The report also stated that at 27.6 percent of the flights in January of 2008 were at least 15 minutes late upon arrival, up 1 percent from January of last year's 26.6 percent.

And while the Airlines' continue to blame weather related issues for thier delays, Tulsa World quotes Scott Shankland, an American pilot and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, saying that despite what the carriers' are saying, "the delays are increasingly caused by the unreliability of aircraft because of mechanical problems." And he goes on to say that "mechanical cancellations are running at historically high levels."

And as we head into the busy summer travel season, delays will clearly continue to affect travelers across the nation.

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