[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 21 (Saturday, February 6, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1325-S1327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. McCain, Ms. Snowe, and Mr. Bryan):
  S. 383. A bill to establish a national policy of basic consumer fair 
treatment for airline passengers; to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation.


                     AIRLINE PASSENGER FAIRNESS ACT

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with Senator 
McCain, the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Senators 
Bryan and Snowe in introducing today the Airline Passenger Fairness Act 
of 1999. The purpose of our legislation is to assure that consumer 
protections don't end when a passenger pulls into the airport parking 
lot. Travelers ought to enjoy the same kinds of rights in the air as 
they do on the ground. But as airline profits have soared in recent 
years, passenger rights have been left at the gate.
  We are well aware that legislation cannot resolve every problem air 
travelers may encounter. Our bill does not impose a federal mandate for 
fluffier pillows or a Constitutional right to a bigger bag of peanuts, 
just the right to basic information and the ability for consumers to 
make decisions for themselves.
  The Department of Transportation's (DoT) Air Travel Consumer Reports 
just issued its final tally of consumer complaints for 1998. Consumer 
complaints about air travel jumped from a total of 7,667 in 1997 to 
9,606 last year, an increase of more than 25%. In just three months 
last year, one airline alone denied boarding to 55,767 passengers. The 
10 largest U.S. carriers combined denied boarding to more than 250,300 
passengers from July-September 1998. One industry expert estimates that 
sometimes as many as 130-150% of the seats on a flight are sold. 
Clearly, all is not well.
  The price of an airline ticket is one of the great mysteries of 
modern life. A ticket costs one price when purchased over the phone and 
another if purchased online, one if purchased in the morning and 
another three hours later. It practically defies the law of physics.
  With this bill, we are putting the airlines on notice that business 
as usual is no longer acceptable for American air travelers. No longer 
can a passenger be bumped, canceled or overbooked with impunity.
  Under this bill, consumers will be able to get full information about 
all the fares on all the flights. Airlines will no longer be able to 
withhold basic information on air fares, creating confusion and 
preventing consumers from comparison shopping. It will also make sure 
that when a consumer pays for a ticket, they can use all or part of it 
for whatever reason they choose. Airlines will have to inform a 
ticketed passenger when a flight is overbooked, as well as when the 
problem is when a flight is canceled, delayed, or diverted.
  The legislation will work by building on current rules and 
regulations. Today, the Department of Transportation can investigate 
``anti-competitive, unfair or deceptive practices'' by an airline. If 
the Department finds that an airline has engaged in such practices, DoT 
can issue civil penalties or take other actions to assure compliance. 
Our legislation will empower consumers to seek DoT action against 
carriers that fail to respect the common sense consumer protections 
spelled out in the bill.

[[Page S1326]]

  To date, DoT has tended to look at this authority primarily on an 
industry-wide basis, or whether one airline has engaged in an unfair 
practice against another. Our bill brings this attention down to the 
consumers' level. It gives the Department the authority to investigate 
and punish violations of passenger rights. Under our proposal, airlines 
will no longer be able to deny consumers basic information without 
paying a price.
  This bill will also put market forces to work to bring prices down. 
Today, a traveler cannot get much basic information. Poor information 
makes for poor decisions; poor decisions prevent the market from 
operating smoothly and set the stage for higher prices. Just last year, 
according to one national media report, there were more than a dozen 
fare hikes, and in late January, the media reported the major U.S. 
carriers raised leisure fares four percent and business fares two 
percent. Informed consumers engaging in real comparison shopping will 
put pressure on the airlines to make fares as low as possible.
  There's been a lot of talk lately about ``air rage.'' In my view 
there is no excuse for violent or abusive behavior by anyone. But when 
people are treated like so many pieces of cargo, it's not surprising 
that some of them will lash out. One pilot at a major U.S. air carrier 
said recently: ``What's happening is the industry's own fault. We've 
got to treat passengers with respect. We've made air travel a very 
unpleasant experience.''
  It's time to make sure air travel works better for everyone. It can 
if air travelers have the same basic protections as other consumers. 
The corner grocer cannot sell a customer a product at one price and 
then sell the next customer in line the same product at a higher price. 
The neighborhood movie house cannot cancel a show just because only a 
few people show up. The Airline Passenger Fairness Act will bring 
similar consumer protections to air travel and ensure that air 
travelers have the information they need to make informed decisions.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 383

       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 Passenger Fairness 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The number of airline passengers on United States 
     carriers is expected to grow from about 600 million per year 
     today to about 1 billion by the year 2008.
       (2) Since 1978 the number of certified large air carriers 
     has decreased from 30 to 10. In 1998, 6 of the United States' 
     largest air carriers sought to enter into arrangements that 
     would result in 3 large networks comprising approximately 70 
     percent of the domestic market.
       (3) Only \2/3\ of all communities in the United States that 
     had scheduled air service in 1978 still have it today, and 
     \1/2\ of those remaining are served by smaller airlines 
     feeding hub airports.
       (4) The Department of Transportation's Domestic Airline 
     Fares Consumer Report for the 3rd Quarter of 1997 listed 75 
     major city pairs where fares increased by 30 percent or more 
     year-over-year, while total traffic in these city pairs 
     decreased by 863,500 passengers, or more than 20 percent.
       (5) A 1998 Department of Transportation study found that 
     large United States air carriers charge twice as much at 
     their large hub airports where there is no low fare 
     competition as they charge at a hub airport where a low fare 
     competitor is present. The General Accounting Office found 
     that fares range from 12 percent to 71 percent higher at hubs 
     dominated by one carrier or a consortium.
       (6) Complaints filed with the Department of Transportation 
     about airline travel have increased by more than 25 percent 
     over the previous year, and complaints against large United 
     States air carriers have increased from 6,394 in 1997 to 
     7,994 in 1998.
       (7) The 1997 National Civil Aviation Review Commission 
     reported that recent data indicate the problem of delay in 
     flights is getting worse, and that the number of daily 
     aircraft delays of 15 minutes or longer was nearly 20 percent 
     higher in 1996 than in 1995.
       (8) The 1997 National Civil Aviation Review Commission 
     forecast that United States domestic and international 
     passenger enplanements are expected to increase 52 percent 
     between 1996 and 2006, and the Federal Aviation 
     Administration forecasts annual growth in revenue passenger 
     miles will average 4.2 percent.
       (9) A 1998 Department of Transportation study found that 
     the large United States air carriers charge about 60 percent 
     more to passengers traveling to or from small communities 
     than they charge to passengers traveling between large 
     communities.
       (10) The Congress has directed the Secretary of 
     Transportation to prohibit unfair and deceptive practices in 
     the airline industry.

     SEC. 3. FAIR PRACTICES FOR AIRLINE PASSENGERS.

       Section 41712 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``On the initiative'' and inserting ``(a) 
     Duty of the Secretary.--On the initiative''; and
       (2) by adding at the end thereof the following:
       ``(b) Specific Practices.--For purposes of subsection (a), 
     the terms `unfair or deceptive practice' and `unfair method 
     of competition' include, in the case of a certificated air 
     carrier, an air carrier's failure--
       ``(1) to inform a ticketed passenger, upon request, whether 
     the flight on which the passenger is ticketed is oversold;
       ``(2) to permit a passenger holding a confirmed reserved 
     space on a flight to use portions of that passenger's ticket 
     for travel, rather than the entire ticket, regardless of the 
     reason any other portion of the ticket is not used;
       ``(3) to deliver a passenger's checked baggage within 24 
     hours after arrival of the flight on which the passenger 
     travelled and on which the passenger checked the baggage, 
     except for reasonable delays in delivery of such baggage;
       ``(4) to provide a consumer full access to all fares for 
     that air carrier, regardless of the technology the consumer 
     uses to access the fares if such information is requested by 
     that consumer;
       ``(5) to provide notice to each passenger holding a 
     confirmed reserved space on a flight with reasonable prior 
     notice when a scheduled flight will be delayed for any reason 
     (other than reasons of national security);
       ``(6) to inform passengers accurately and truthfully of the 
     reason for the delay, cancellation, or diversion of a flight;
       ``(7) to refund the full purchase price of an unused ticket 
     if the passenger requests a refund within 48 hours after the 
     ticket is purchased;
       ``(8) to disclose to consumers information that would 
     enable them to make informed decisions about the comparative 
     value of frequent flyer programs among airlines, including--
       ``(A) the number of seats redeemable on each flight; and
       ``(B) the percentage of successful and failed redemptions 
     on each airline and on each flight.
       ``(c) Report.--The Secretary shall include information 
     about violations of subsection (a) by certificated air 
     carriers in the Department of Transportation's monthly Air 
     Travel Consumer Report.
       ``(d) Confirmed reserved space.--The term `confirmed 
     reserved space' shall mean a space on a specific date and on 
     a specific flight and class of service of a carrier which has 
     been requested by a passenger and which the carrier or its 
     agent has verified, by appropriate notation on the ticket or 
     in any other manner provided by the carrier, as being 
     reserved for the accommodation of the passenger.''.

 Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I rise today along with my 
colleagues, Senator Wyden, Senator Snowe, and Senator Bryan, to 
introduce the Airline Passenger Fairness Act.
  People who travel by air are the airlines' customers. As such, they 
expect and deserve the same fair treatment that consumers in other 
areas have come to rely on. The Airline Passenger Fairness Act would 
ensure that passengers have the information that they need to make 
informed choices in their travel plans. It also seeks to encourage 
airlines to provide better customer service by outlining some minimum 
standards.
  Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to comment on 
some of the specific provisions in the bill. The Airline Passenger 
Fairness Act will enable an airline passenger to:
  find out whether the flight on which that passenger is booked has 
been oversold;
  use whatever portions of a ticket he or she chooses to use to get to 
his or her destination;
  receive his or her checked baggage within 24 hours of a flight's 
arrival, unless additional delays are reasonable;
  find out from an airline all of the fares that the airline offers, 
regardless of the method used to access fares;
  receive prior notice when a scheduled flight will be delayed, if 
reasonable;
  receive accurate information about the reasons why a passenger's 
flight has been delayed, canceled, or diverted to another airport;
  obtain a full refund of the purchase price of a ticket if the 
passenger requests it within 48 hours of purchase; and
  receive accurate information about an airline's frequent flyer 
program, including the number of seats that can be

[[Page S1327]]

redeemed on each flight, and the percentage of successful and failed 
frequent flyer redemptions on each flight.
  The Department of Transportation already holds the authority to 
investigate airlines that have been charged with exercising ``unfair 
and deceptive practices,'' and ``unfair methods of competition.'' Our 
bill simply specifies that if passengers are denied any of the items of 
fair treatment that I just listed, that denial constitutes an unfair or 
deceptive practice on the part of the airline, or an unfair method of 
competition.
  Mr. President, as I said earlier, this legislation is about helping 
consumers make informed choices among their air travel options. A key 
component of this bill is a publication requirement. Consumers will be 
able to review the Department of Transportation's monthly Air Travel 
Consumer Report to find out what airlines are denying passengers the 
fair treatment outlined in the bill, and on how many occasions.
  Air travel is on the rise. As airport congestion, delays, and fares 
increase, so have the complaints among airline passengers. The Air 
Passenger Fairness Act seeks to respond to these complaints in a 
constructive manner by giving passengers better information on which to 
judge the service levels offered by the airlines. We expect to hold 
hearings soon on this bill in the Commerce Committee, and we welcome 
any input on the initiative.
                                 ______