[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1792 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1792

To amend title 49, United States Code, to ensure that air carriers meet 
  their obligations under the Airline Customer Service Agreement, and 
provide improved passenger service in order to meet public convenience 
                             and necessity.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 9, 2001

Mr. Watts of Oklahoma introduced the following bill; which was referred 
         to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to ensure that air carriers meet 
  their obligations under the Airline Customer Service Agreement, and 
provide improved passenger service in order to meet public convenience 
                             and necessity.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Airline Customer Service Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Airline traffic in the United States is increasing. The 
        number of passengers carried by United States air carriers has 
        nearly tripled since 1978, to over 660 million annually. The 
        number is expected to grow to more than 1 billion by 2010. The 
        number of domestic flights has been steadily increasing as 
        well.
            (2) The Inspector General of the Department of 
        Transportation has found that this growth in traffic has been 
        accompanied by increases in delays, cancellations, and customer 
        dissatisfaction with air carrier service.
                    (A) The Federal Aviation Administration has 
                reported that, between 1995 and 2000, delays increased 
                90 percent and cancellations increased 104 percent. In 
                2000, over 1 in 4 flights were delayed, canceled, or 
                diverted, affecting approximately 163 million 
                passengers.
                    (B) At the 30 largest United States airports, the 
                number of flights with taxi-out times of 1 hour or more 
                increased 165 percent between 1995 and 2000. The number 
                of flights with taxi-out times of 4 hours or more 
                increased 341 percent during the same period.
                    (C) Certain flights, particularly those scheduled 
                during peak periods at the nation's busiest airports, 
                are subject to chronic delays. In December, 2000, 626 
                regularly scheduled flights arrived late 70 percent of 
                the time or more, as reported by the Department of 
                Transportation.
                    (D) The number of consumer complaints filed with 
                the Department of Transportation about airline travel 
                has nearly quadrupled since 1995. According to the 
                Department of Transportation's Inspector General, air 
                carriers receive between 100 and 400 complaints for 
                every complaint filed with the Department of 
                Transportation.
            (3) During the same time period in which the number of 
        complaints about airline travel has increased, the resources 
        devoted to the Department of Transportation's handling of such 
        complaints have declined sharply. The Department of 
        Transportation's Inspector General has reported that the 
        staffing of the Department of Transportation office responsible 
        for handling airline customer service complaints declined from 
        40 in 1985 to just 17 in 2000.
            (4) In June, 1999, the Air Transport Association and its 
        member airlines agreed to an Airline Customer Service 
        Commitment designed to address mounting consumer 
        dissatisfaction and improve customer service in the industry.
            (5) The Inspector General of the Department of 
        Transportation has found that the airlines' voluntary 
        commitment to better service, set forth in the Airline Customer 
        Service Commitment, has resulted in positive changes in how air 
        travelers are treated.
            (6) While the Inspector General's final report noted that 
        the voluntary effort has produced benefits faster than would a 
        legislative or regulatory mandate, which could have taken years 
        to implement, the Inspector General has recommended additional 
        changes that require legislation and regulations.
            (7) The Airline Customer Service Commitment has prompted 
        the airlines to address consumer concerns in many areas, 
        ranging from providing information more accurately on delays to 
        explaining that lower fares may be available through the 
        Internet.
            (8) Air carriers need to do more, in the areas under their 
        control, to reduce over-scheduling, the number of chronically 
        late or chronically canceled flights, and the amount of checked 
baggage that does not show up with the passenger upon arrival.
            (9) The airlines were cooperative with, and responsive to, 
        many of the suggestions the Inspector General made in the 
        interim report last year.
            (10) The Inspector General has determined that, while there 
        has been significant progress in improving airline customer 
        service, certain areas covered by the Airline Customer Service 
        Commitment are in need of significant clarification and 
        improvement and, where appropriate, enforcement action.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO DEVOTE GREATER RESOURCES TO 
              AIRLINE PASSENGER CONSUMER PROTECTION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall increase the 
resources of the Department of Transportation allocated to providing--
            (1) airline passenger consumer protection and related 
        services; and
            (2) oversight and enforcement of laws and regulations 
        within the jurisdiction of the Department that provide 
        protection for air travelers.
    (b) Report.--Within 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure measures taken by the Secretary to carry out 
subsection (a), together with a request for additional funds or 
measures, if necessary, to carry out that subsection fully.

SEC. 4. AIRLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE COMMITMENT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

               ``SUBCHAPTER IV--AIRLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE

``Sec.  41781. Airline customer service requirements
    ``(a) In General.--Within 60 days after the date of enactment of 
the Airline Customer Service Improvement Act, each large air carrier 
shall incorporate in its contract of carriage--
            ``(1) the provisions of the Airline Customer Service 
        Commitment executed by the Air Transport Association and 14 of 
        its member airlines on June 17, 1999; and
            ``(2) its customer service plan developed in accordance 
        with that Commitment to the extent that the plan is more 
        specific or broader than the Commitment.
    ``(b) Additional Obligations.--Within 60 days after the date of 
enactment of the Airline Customer Service Improvement Act, each large 
air carrier shall institute the following practices:
            ``(1) Provide to customers at an airport and on board an 
        aircraft, in a timely, reasonable, and truthful manner, the 
        best information available to the air carrier regarding a 
        delay, cancellation, or diversion affecting the customers' 
        flight, including--
                    ``(A) the cause of any such delay, cancellation, or 
                diversion; and
                    ``(B) for a delayed flight, the air carrier's best 
                estimate of the departure time.
            ``(2) Offer the lowest fare available for which a customer 
        is eligible at the air carrier's ticket offices and airport 
        ticket service counters for the date, flight, and class of 
        service requested.
            ``(3) Notify customers that lower fares may be available 
        through other distribution systems, including Internet 
        websites.
            ``(4) Provide, no later than the 5th day of each month, the 
        air carrier's on-time performance rate for each scheduled 
        flight for the most recently ended month for which data is 
        available through its Internet website.
            ``(5) Disclose, without being requested, the on-time 
        performance and cancellation rate for a chronically delayed or 
        chronically canceled flight whenever a customer makes a 
        reservation or purchases a ticket on such a flight.
            ``(6) Establish a plan with respect to passengers who must 
        unexpectedly remain overnight during a trip due to flight 
        delays, cancellations, or diversions.
            ``(7) Tell all passengers on a flight what the air carrier 
        is required to pay passengers involuntarily denied boarding 
        before making offers to passengers to induce them to relinquish 
        seats voluntarily.
    ``(c) Compliance Assurance.--
            ``(1) Air carrier functions.--Each large air carrier also 
        shall--
                    ``(A) establish a customer service quality 
                assurance and performance measurement system within 90 
                days after the date of enactment of the Airline 
                Customer Service Improvement Act;
                    ``(B) establish an internal audit process to 
                measure compliance with the commitments and obligations 
                under subsections (a) and (b) within 90 days after the 
                date of enactment of the Airline Customer Service 
                Improvement Act; and
                    ``(C) cooperate fully with any Department of 
                Transportation audit of its customer service quality 
                assurance system or review of its internal audit.
            ``(2) DOT functions.--The Secretary of Transportation 
        shall--
                    ``(A) monitor compliance by large air carriers with 
                the requirements of this section and take such action 
                under subpart IV of this title as may be necessary to 
                enforce compliance with this section under subpart IV 
                of this title;
                    ``(B) monitor, in particular, and enforce air 
                carrier performance under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 
                (5), and (7) of subsection (b), focusing on practices 
                and patterns of conduct rather than specific incidents 
                of failure to follow the air carrier's established 
                practices;
                    ``(C) monitor air carrier customer service quality 
                assurance and performance measurement systems to ensure 
                that air carriers are meeting fully their airline 
                passenger service commitments; and
                    ``(D) review the internal audits conducted by air 
                carriers of their air carrier customer service quality 
                assurance and performance measurement systems.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Large air carrier.--The term `large air carrier' 
        means an air carrier holding a certificate issued under section 
        41102 that conducts scheduled passenger air transportation 
        and--
                    ``(A) operates aircraft designed to have a maximum 
                passenger capacity of more than 60 seats or a maximum 
                payload capacity of more than 18,000 pounds; or
                    ``(B) conducts operations where one or both 
                terminals of a flight stage are outside the 50 States 
                of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
                Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 
                Islands.
            ``(2) Chronically delayed flight.--The term `chronically 
        delayed flight' means a regularly scheduled flight that has 
        failed to arrive on time (as defined in section 234.2 of title 
        14, Code of Federal Regulations) at least 40 percent of the 
        time during the most recent 3-month period for which data are 
        available.
            ``(3) Chronically canceled flight.--The term `chronically 
        canceled flight' means a regularly scheduled flight at least 30 
        percent of the departures of which have been canceled during 
        the most recent 3-month period for which data are available.''.
    (b) Enforcement.--Section 46301(a)(7) of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ``40127 or 41712'' and inserting ``40127, 
41712, or 41781''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 417 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

               ``subchapter iv--airline customer service

``41781. Airline customer service requirements.''.

SEC. 5. OTHER SERVICE-ENHANCING IMPROVEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, each large air carrier (as defined in section 41781(d)(1) of title 
49, United States Code) shall--
            (1) establish realistic targets for reducing chronically 
        delayed and chronically canceled flights;
            (2) establish a system passengers may use before departing 
        for the airport to determine whether there is a lengthy flight 
        delay or whether a flight has been canceled;
            (3) establish realistic performance goals for reducing the 
        number of mishandled bags;
            (4) develop and implement a system for tracking and 
        documenting the amount of time between the receipt of a 
        passenger's claim for missing baggage and the delivery of the 
        baggage to the passenger, including the time taken by a courier 
        or other delivery service to deliver found baggage to the 
        passenger;
            (5) monitor and report its efforts to improve services 
        provided to passengers with disabilities and special needs, 
        including services provided at airports such as check-in, 
        passenger security screening (particularly for passengers who 
        use wheelchairs), boarding, and disembarkation;
            (6) clarify terminology used to advise passengers of 
        unscheduled delays or interruptions in service, such as 
        ``extended period of time'' and ``emergency'', in order to 
        inform passengers better about what they can expect during on-
        board delays;
            (7) ensure that comprehensive passenger service contingency 
        plans are properly maintained and that the plans, and any 
        changes to those plans, are coordinated with local airport 
        authorities and the Federal Aviation Administration;
            (8) ensure that master airport flight information display 
        monitors contain accurate, up-to-date flight information and 
        that the information is consistent with that shown on the 
        carrier's flight information display monitors;
            (9) establish a toll-free telephone number that a passenger 
        may use to check on the status of checked baggage that was not 
        delivered on arrival at the passenger's destination;
            (10) if it maintains a domestic code-share arrangement with 
        another air carrier, conclude an agreement under which it will 
        conduct an annual audit of the code-share air carrier's 
        compliance with the Airline Customer Service Commitment; and
            (11) if it has a frequent flyer program, make available to 
        the public a comprehensive report of frequent flyer redemption 
        information in its customer literature and annual reports, 
        including information on the percentage of successful 
        redemption of frequent flyer awards and the number of seats 
        available for such awards in the air carrier's top 100 origin 
        and destination markets.
    (b) Initial Response Reports.--
            (1) Air carriers.--Within 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, each large air carrier shall report to 
        the Secretary of Transportation on its implementation of the 
        obligations imposed on it by this Act.
            (2) Secretary.--Within 270 days after the date of enactment 
        of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall report to 
        the Congress on the implementation by large air carriers of the 
        obligations imposed on them by this Act, together with such 
        additional findings and recommendations for additional 
        legislative or regulatory action as the Secretary deems 
        appropriate.

SEC. 6. IMPROVED DOT STATISTICS.

    (a) Missing Baggage.--In calculating and reporting the rate of 
mishandled baggage for air carriers, the Department of Transportation 
shall not take into account passengers who do not check any baggage.
    (b) Chronically Delayed or Canceled Flights.--The Office of 
Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings of the Department of 
Transportation, in coordination with the Bureau of Transportation 
Statistics of the Department of Transportation, shall include a table 
in the Air Travel Consumer Report that shows flights that are 
chronically delayed or chronically canceled (as defined in section 
41781(d) (2) and (3), respectively, of title 49, United States Code).

SEC. 7. DOT REGULATIONS ON BUMPING.

    (a) Uniform Check-in Deadline.--The Secretary of Transportation 
shall initiate a rulemaking within 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act to amend the Department of Transportation's Regulations to 
consider establishing a uniform check-in deadline and to require air 
carriers to disclose, both in their contracts of carriage and on ticket 
jackets, their policies on how those deadlines apply to passengers 
making connections.
    (b) Bumped Passenger Compensation.--The Secretary of Transportation 
shall initiate a rulemaking within 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act to amend section 250.5 of the Department of 
Transportation's Regulations (14 C.F.R. 250.5) governing the amount of 
denied boarding compensation for passengers denied boarding 
involuntarily to increase the maximum amount thereof.
    (c) Clarify Certain Terms.--The Secretary of Transportation shall 
clarify the terms ``any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage'' 
and ``unjust or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage'', as used in 
section 250.3 of the Department of Transportation's Regulations (14 
C.F.R. 250.3), for purposes of air carrier priority rules or criteria 
for passengers denied boarding involuntarily.

SEC. 8. STUDY OF DAMAGE TO PASSENGERS WITH DISABILITIES' EQUIPMENT.

    The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a study of incidents 
of damage to equipment of passengers with disabilities attributable to 
air carriers' treatment of that equipment.

SEC. 9. REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.

    Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall complete a thorough review of the Department of 
Transportation's regulations that relate to air carriers' treatment of 
customers, and make such modifications as may be necessary or 
appropriate to promote the purposes of this Act or otherwise protect 
consumers.

SEC. 10. EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 417 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec.  41722. Airline passenger emergency in-flight medical care
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe 
regulations to establish minimum standards for resuscitation, emergency 
medical, and first-aid equipment and supplies to be carried on-board an 
aircraft operated by an air carrier in air transportation that is 
capable of carrying at least 30 passengers.
    ``(b) Factors Considered.--In prescribing regulations under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider--
            ``(1) the weight and size of the equipment described in 
        subsection (a);
            ``(2) the need for special training of air carrier 
        personnel to operate the equipment safely and effectively;
            ``(3) the space limitations of each type of aircraft to 
        which the standards apply;
            ``(4) the effect of the regulations on aircraft operations;
            ``(5) the practical experience of airlines in carrying and 
        operating similar equipment, and whether any air carriers are 
        already training appropriate personnel to an acceptable level 
        of proficiency in the operation of such equipment and the 
        provision of first-aid; and
            ``(6) such other factors as the Secretary finds relevant.
    ``(c) Consultation With Surgeon General.--Before prescribing 
regulations under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with the 
Surgeon General of the United States.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 417 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 41721 the following:

``41722. Airline passenger emergency in-flight medical care.''.
                                 <all>