[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 19, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7243-S7244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID:
  S. 2891. A bill to establish a national policy of basic consumer fair 
treatment for airline passengers; to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation.


                AIR TRAVELERS FAIR TREATMENT ACT OF 2000

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Air Travelers' Fair 
Treatment Act of 2000.
  Air travel is an increasingly unpleasant and stressful experience. 
Anyone who flies much at all knows that airports are crowded, flights 
too often delayed or canceled without explanation, ticket prices are 
unpredictable and hard to figure out, passengers are more unruly and 
occasionally violent.
  Monday's edition of the Washington Post included a front-page story 
reporting that delays and cancellations are at an all-time high. 
According to Time Magazine, the number of air-rage incidents reported 
by flight crews from 66 in 1997, to 534 last year. It doesn't take a 
great leap of faith to see a relationship between the two.
  Last year, Congress passed my ``air rage'' bill that increased 
penalties on passengers who commit acts that threaten the health or 
safety of other passengers or jeopardize the safety of the flight. That 
was a good bill, that I think will help passengers and airlines alike 
to reduce the amount of stress associated with flying.
  But punishing unruly passengers is only half of the solution, because 
unruly passengers are not the only source of stress in air travel. Air 
rage is not only a cause, but a symptom, of stress.
  The airlines have cut corners in recent years in ways that make 
traveling by air more and more difficult and unpleasant for customers.
  A few weeks ago, the Inspector General of the Department of 
Transportation released a study on the performance of the airline 
industry. According to the study:
  Through the first four months of this year, the number of passenger 
complaints to the Department has increased a whopping 74 percent 
compared to last year.
  Complaints about delays, cancellations, and missed connections were 
up 115 percent since last year--in other words, they have more than 
doubled in only one year.
  And even these numbers may be low, because the Inspector General 
estimates that the airlines receive anywhere from 100 to 400 complaints 
for every one that is filed with the government.
  Last fall, the airlines announced that they would voluntarily 
implement their own reforms. They made a great show of implementing 
their ``12 Commandments for Customer Service'' last fall.
  But this study reveals that things have become worse, not better. The 
study cites numerous instances where the airlines have violated their 
own so-called ``Commandments.''
  For example, one of these so-called Commandments is to notify 
customers about delays and cancellations. The Transportation 
Department's report indicated that airlines were, in fact, making an 
effort to communicate delays and cancellations--but that the 
information communicated was, to quote the Inspector General, 
``frequently inaccurate, incomplete or unreliable.''
  Airlines are often poorly equipped to handle in-flight emergencies--
some carriers have virtually no first-air or medical equipment on their 
flights, and the amount of first-aid training that flight crews 
received varies widely from carrier to carrier.
  And airlines ticket prices are still confusing and arbitrary. Some 
carriers have enacted rules that prohibit customers from combining legs 
of different tickets to get the best prices.
  Now, there are some explanations for the decline in service and the 
increase in the number of complaints. Last year, the airlines carried a 
total of 635 million passengers, a record number, double the number of 
passengers 20 years ago. The average load factor--which refers to the 
percentage of passengers compared to available seats--is 71 percent, 
also a record.
  But crowded airports are no excuse for airlines to violate their own 
so-called Commandments for Customer Service.
  It's no excuse for providing misleading or inaccurate explanations of 
delays or cancellations to air travelers. People make plans around 
posted flight schedules, important personal or business plans. If a 
flight is canceled or delayed, they should be able to find out what's 
going on, so that they can make alternative plans if they need to.
  The bill I am introducing today will address some of these concerns.
  The bill has seven provisions.
  (1) Pricing Policies: Due to the complex way that airlines price 
their tickets, in some cases, a trip will be cheaper if a passenger 
purchases a ticket to a different destination and gets off during the 
layover, leaving the second leg of the ticket unused, rather than 
buying a ticket directly to his/her intended destination. Similarly, a 
passenger may save money by combining portions of different tickets. To 
prevent this and to force passengers to pay the higher prices, airlines 
have  begun canceling the return ticket if the passenger does not use 
the entire ticket, and penalizing travel agents who allow customers to 
combine ticket portions this way. The bill would allow passengers to 
use all, part or none of a purchased ticket without penalty by the 
airline, enabling passengers and travel agents to freely mix-and-match 
tickets to get the best price.

  (2) Flight Delays: The bill requires air carriers to provide 
travelers with accurate and timely explanations of the reasons for a 
flight cancellation, delay or diversion from a ticketed itinerary, by 
classifying the failure to do so as an unfair business practice.
  (3) Right to Exit Aircraft: Where a plane has remained at the gate 
for more than 1 hour past its scheduled departure time and the captain 
has not been informed that the aircraft can be cleared for departure 
within 15 minutes, passengers would have the right

[[Page S7244]]

to exit the plane into the terminal to make alternative travel plans, 
or simply to stretch their legs, get something to eat, etc. I believe 
this provision will help prevent ``air rage'' incidents when passengers 
are forced to sit in parked planes for long periods of time.
  (4) Right to In-flight Medical Care: Currently, each airline has its 
own policy regarding what kind of medical and first-aid equipment and 
training is provided on their flights, so that the available equipment 
varies widely, particularly with more expensive equipment like 
defibrillators. This bill would direct the Secretary of Transportation 
to issue uniform minimum regulations for all carriers regarding the 
type of medical equipment each flight must carry, and the kind of 
medical training each flight crew should receive.
  (5) Access to State Laws: The Federal Courts have split on whether 
the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 pre-empts state consumer 
protection and personal injury laws as applied to airlines. The Ninth 
Circuit Court of Appeals has held that passengers may sue airlines in 
state court for violations of state tort and consumer laws; in 
contrast, the Fourth Circuit has held that airlines are immune from 
state laws. The Supreme Court has not acted on the issue. The bill 
would add a provision making clear that the 1978 Act does not pre-empt 
state tort and consumer protection laws.
  (6) Termination of Ticket Agents: Travel agencies provide a valuable 
service to customers looking for the best prices. Yet airlines have 
enormous leverage over what kind of information they can and cannot 
provide to customers, because they can withdraw their accounts without 
notice from any travel agency for any reason--even if the only reason 
is that the travel agency is giving the customer the best rates. The 
bill requires carriers to provide written 90-day advance statement of 
reasons before canceling a travel agency's account with the airline, 
and to give them 60 days to correct the identified deficiencies.
  (7) Independent Commission: Finally, the bill would establish an 
independent Commission to study the airlines' pricing practices and 
their effects on customer choice, on the number of routes available, 
and on the quality of service provided by the airlines.
  The stress associated with air travel has increased considerably, and 
much of that stress is caused by things that airlines do to save money 
and maximize profit that hurt customers. I believe that we must look at 
unfair and deceptive practices of the airlines that contribute to the 
stress of air travel, in a specific, targeted and reasonable manner. 
This bill will do that.
                                 ______