Prodded by US lawmakers and the Administration of US President Bill Clinton, the USA's major airlines have adopted voluntary measures designed to address a growing number of complaints by passengers and to stave off consumer protection legislation. The industry plan is aimed at heading off Congressional proposals to write passenger rights into law.
The plan for the passenger rights bill legislation was triggered by a snowstorm this year that left hundreds of Northwest Airlines passengers stranded aboard aircraft in Detroit for up to 8h without food, water or access to restrooms.
United Airlines chairman and chief executive Gerald Greenwald says that the "Customer First" campaign represents an unprecedented move to solve the problems and addresses the "perception, maybe a groundswell" that carriers do not care about their customers.
Members of the US Air Transport Association have agreed to make every "reasonable effort" to avoid long on-aircraft delays. The airlines have also agreed to disclose fully cancellation policies and frequent flier rules and to provide prompt ticket refunds. They will also return misplaced luggage within 24h and better accommodate disabled passengers and unaccompanied minors.
Department of Trade secretary Rodney Slater says "the measures fall short in some respects", but he believes airlines recognise that "passengers deserve fair treatment and full disclosure. Real performance will be closely monitored".
Source: Flight International
