[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 13, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1344-S1346]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McCAIN (for himself, Mr. Hollings, and Mrs. Hutchison):
  S. 319. 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; to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, this morning the Commerce Committee heard 
testimony from the Department of Transportation Inspector General on 
the airlines' efforts to meet their voluntary Airline Customer Service 
Commitment. The IG reported that the airlines had made progress in 
their customer service areas. He also noted that the airlines were 
deficient in many areas of their commitment. The IG recommended that 
Congress take some measures to ensure that the airlines continue to 
make progress on the passenger service front.
  To that end, I am introducing the Airline Customer Service 
Improvement Act, along with Senators Hollings, Hutchison, and Wyden.
  This bill implements the recommendations set forth by the Inspector 
General in his final report. Specifically, the bill requires each air 
carrier to incorporate the voluntary Airline Customer Service 
Commitment into its contract of carriage. In addition, the bill 
requires each air carrier to specifically disclose information 
recommended by Mr. Mead, such as the on-time performance rates of 
specific flights and the airlines' policy with respect to overnight 
accommodations.
  The bill also directs the Department of Transportation to raise the 
compensation required for passengers involuntarily bumped from a 
flight. This regulation has not been updated in more than 20 years.
  The bill also directs the Department of Transportation to change the 
way it calculates lost and mishandled baggage statistics, so that these 
statistics will more accurately represent the problems that passengers 
face.
  Finally, consistent with the IG's recommendations, the bill requires 
the airlines to report on their efforts to establish targets for 
reducing the number of chronically-delayed and canceled flights, and 
establishing a system passengers may use to determine if their flight 
has been delayed or canceled.
  In short, this legislation does not seek to legislate good customer 
service. This legislation seeks to provide the airlines and the 
Department of Transportation with the incentives to ensure that good 
customer service remains high on everyone's priority list.
  Let me make clear that this bill is just one small step towards 
fixing the system. This bill does not begin to address the many 
problems facing the airline industry. Capacity, congestion, antiquated 
air traffic control systems, and labor all have had detrimental effects 
on our system and, consequently, customer service. The Commerce 
Committee will continue to explore ways to improve the efficiency of 
our aviation system. We will all need to work together to fix the 
multitude of problems that airline customers face everyday.
  I look forward to working together with my fellow Senators on this 
and other ways to address the needs of our aviation system.
  I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 319

       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) 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.
       (2) While the Inspector General's Final report noted that 
     the voluntary effort has produced benefits faster than a 
     legislative or regulatory mandate, which could have taken 
     years to implement, the Inspector General has recommended 
     additional changes that require legislation and regulations.
       (3) 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.
       (4) The airlines were cooperative with, and responsive to, 
     many of the suggestions the Inspector General made in the 
     interim report last year.
       (5) 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 the provisions of 
     the Airline Customer Service Commitment executed by the Air 
     Transport Association and 14 of its member airlines on June 
     17, 1999, in its contract of carriage.
       ``(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) Include fares available at the air carrier's ticket 
     offices and airport ticket service counters when quoting the 
     lowest fare available to passengers.
       ``(2) Notify customers that lower fares may be available 
     through other distribution systems, including Internet 
     websites.
       ``(3) 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.
       ``(4) Disclose, without being requested, the on-time 
     performance and cancellation rate for a chronically-delayed 
     or canceled flight whenever a customer makes a reservation or 
     purchases a ticket on such a flight.
       ``(5) Establish a plan with respect to passengers who must 
     unexpectedly remain overnight during a trip due to flight 
     delays, cancellations, or diversions.
       ``(6) 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 voluntarily 
     to relinquish seats.
       ``(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 its customer service plan 
     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 necessary to enforce 
     compliance with this section under subpart IV of this title;
       ``(B) 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

[[Page S1345]]

       ``(C) 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--
       ``(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 or canceled.--A flight shall be 
     considered to be chronically-delayed or canceled if at least 
     40 percent of the flight's departures are delayed for at 
     least 15 minutes or at least 40 percent of the flights are 
     canceled.''.
       (b) Enforcement.--Section 46301(a)(7) of title 49, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``40112 or 41727'' and 
     inserting ``40112, 41727, 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)) shall--
       (1) establish realistic targets for reducing chronically-
     delayed and 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) 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;
       (4) 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;
       (5) clarify terminology used to advise passengers of 
     unscheduled delays or interruptions in service, such as 
     ``extended period of time'' and ``emergency'', in order 
     better to inform passengers about what they can expect during 
     on-board delays;
       (6) 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;
       (7) 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;
       (8) 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;
       (9) if it maintains a domestic code-share arrangement with 
     another air carrier, conclude an agreement under which it 
     will conduct an annual audit of that air carrier's compliance 
     with the other air carrier's airline customer service 
     commitment; and
       (10) if it has a frequent flyer program, make available to 
     the public a comprehensive report of frequent flyer 
     redemption information in their 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 chronically delayed by 15 
     minutes or more and flights canceled 40 percent or more for 3 
     consecutive months or more.

     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 establish 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 the 
     Department of Transportation's Regulation (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.

  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I join with Senator McCain in co-
sponsoring the Airline Customer Service Improvement Act. The Commerce 
Committee has spent a great deal of time seeking ways to hold the air 
carriers accountable for their service and to force them to do a better 
job. Deregulation was supposed to make the carriers compete for our 
business, but it has failed. We now have hundreds of markets with no 
competition, and without competition, you get no service. Carriers have 
treated consumers like cattle in a stockyard, and that must end.
  It is time to stand up for all travelers and demand basic 
information, and to expect service if we are paying the high fares.
  The Commerce Committee has held three hearings, enlisted the 
Department of Transportation's Inspector General, and experienced the 
lack of service, first hand. It is not complicated, but it does take a 
commitment from the industry to hire more people and give them the 
tools to tell consumers what is going on or why a flight is canceled or 
delayed. Flights delayed 30, 40 percent of the time, according to DOT 
statistics, or canceled that often, should be eliminated or schedules 
changed.
  Telling people truthfully what is happening, providing basic 
necessities when flights are delayed for hours on end like they were in 
Detroit in January 1999, is not hard.
  The chairman and I have waited patiently to proceed with legislation 
in anticipation of a final report by the Department of Transportation's 
Inspector General, Ken Mead. The report, released Monday, is a 
blueprint for change. Mr. Mead and his staff, David Dobbs, Lexi 
Stefani, Brian Dettleback, and Scott Morris, worked long and hard to 
find the best way to make improvements in service.
  The report notes that reducing delays is a tough problem, requiring 
funding and industry action. We have an air transportation system in 
crisis, from every angle, nonetheless that is no excuse for poor 
service. There are more people flying, more planes landing, an increase 
in delays (up 33% since 1995), a critical shortage of runways, and 
airlines able to dictate the price and quality of service offered in 
many markets without regard to competition. Delays will continue to 
plague the system, but the carriers know this, and their Customer 
Service Commitments were done in light of known problems. We will work 
with the industry on many facets of expanding capacity, but it is their 
job to improve service.
  The carriers all to often want to cite the government as the reason 
for their problems. I do not buy that. These carriers have more data 
than virtually any industry, and make educated guesses on pricing and 
scheduling every day. They know the likelihood of delays. Even weather, 
which is unpredictable on a daily basis, is something they can 
anticipate. I know right now we will have thunderstorms this summer, 
and snow storms next winter. How will the carriers treat people during 
those times? I know my flight is likely to be delayed--the reasons may 
vary, but the process by which you tell people basic information should 
not be hard. Some of the carriers have attempted improvements. At a 
hearing last June, one carrier demonstrated a

[[Page S1346]]

new automatic system that more quickly tells people what to expect. 
Another carrier has ``chariots'' that set up temporary service counters 
during emergency periods. An ad this past weekend touted ways to 
electronically tell passengers that a flight is late. These are a 
start, but there is a long road to go.
  The Air Transport Association last month announced a number of 
initiatives on ways to reduce delays. The ATA called on the President 
to hire a 1000 more controllers, use satellites to track planes and to 
redesign our airspace--all actions that could increase capacity. I 
support those initiatives, but we had better tell the Administration 
not to reduce the FAA's budget by hundreds of millions of dollars, 
which they apparently are considering.
  The Senate is going to spend the time to increase competition, to 
improve service, and to put back the notion of the public's needs as a 
priority.
                                 ______