Passengers Bill of Rights … update

I am a free market person, but only when the free market works.  In my opinion, I do not think that the free market is working when it comes to passengers and airlines.  I am also a skeptical of government intervention, because the situation typically does not improve … that’s as positive as I can be.

The airline industry is making it difficult for me to be a free market person.  What would be ideal would be for the airlines to propose a “Passenger Bill of Rights.”  This “Bill of Rights” could even be different from one airline to another.  I think that we consumers are smart enough to decide if the “Rights” are important enough for us to decide to fly or not to fly with a particular carrier.  But the airlines have not do this, so who is left to give us a “Passenger Bill of Right?”  Congress of course.  If I were an airline excutive, I would be feverishly developing a “Bill of Rights.”  Of course, Congress can not produce one and the courts have ruled early in 2008 that individual states cannot write a “Bill of Right” … this may be a blessing in discuise, but I would like some protections or rights as a passenger that extends beyond what the airlines offer now.

The Senate proposed a bill that would guarantee that passengers have clean water, food, bathrooms, and the ability to get off a plane that is delayed by 3 hours.  The House bill proposed that airlines have procedures for addressing passenger complaint, provide information to passengers about delays, publish frequently delayed flight information, publish lowest fares and schedule information, make reasonable efforts to find and return baggages within 24 hrs, and all the Senate rights.

I don’t have a problem with any of the Senate’s or House’s requirements, but don’t the airlines try to do this anyway?  I fly often enough to get delayed quite frequently, and I am certain that the airlines and their employees would prefer not to deal with irrate passengers, which I am not one.  The airlines could do a much better job of updating passengers about delays, but often the poor gate agent doesn’t know why a flight is delayed.  I would like the airlines to have to honor what they promise.  For example, what does it mean to be a frequent flyer who has earned elite status, because they are a loyal flyer?  What does it mean or is worth to accumulate all of these miles? 

Sometimes, the airlines and airport do not honor what I consider to be a contract like elite passengers are supposed to have perks because they have demonstrated loyalty.  I can count the airlines and airports that actually provide a reason for being an elite passenger.  The airlines can also at any time change the rules for airline miles.  Why not lock the airlines into the initial contract that entered.  Airline miles are not like credit cards where you are asking for something like credit.  Airline miles are something that you have earned.  I want “rights” for the things the airlines explictly promise us.

I want more than peanuts

Okay, listen up United States airlines, I want more than peanuts or pretzels on my next flight, especially if it is more than one hour thirty minutes.

Are our airlines the only ones that don’t feed us?  European and African airlines feed you, why can’t we.  Even on short flights, such as from Amsterdam to Frankfurt, we got breakfast, I think it was breakfast [a cheese sandwich, fruit, beverages], on our one hour thirty minute or two hour Lufthansa flight.

Perhaps, the most impressive airline [at least in terms of feeding you] is South African Airlines.  This airline feeds you at least on their intra-African flights.  Even on our approximate two hour flight from Livingstone, Zambia to Johannesburg, South Africa, we received a nice box lunch.  Admittedly, we were a little afraid to eat it after being advised by our travel physician to avoid fresh uncooked produce, but, hey, this is an international airline so we thought that we would be okay. 

Even more impressive, on longer South African flights that serve dinner, the airlines give you real eating utensils, not the plastic flatware that always break on the overcooked tough-as-leather meat that they serve.  As an aside, isn’t real flatware a “security” issue.  As far as airline food goes, their food is not bad.

To US carriers, at least, offer me a cheese sandwich on your one hour thirty minute flights.

What happened to the Passengers Bill of Rights?

I remember the first time that I flew.  It was the summer of 1985 and I was flying to London, England on British Caledonian.  I thought, “Wow, this is the only way to travel.”  Having traveled by car and train, air travel was quick, comfortable, and customer friendly. 

Fast forward to 2007 … Air travel is still quick, but what happened to customer service and satisfaction.  Yes, passengers may have become less civil, we have experienced the tragic events of September 11th, more people travel and the air travel infrastructure has not kept pace.  Sure, these are challenges, maybe even legitimate problems, to air travel, but what happened to customer service and satisfaction.  When I travel on airlines, I sometimes feel like I am “troubling” the airlines and their employees.  It’s like they are doing me a favor …

Of course, I should feel honored and privileged that the airlines allow me to fly on their carriers.  Why should I complain about late or cancelled flights?  It’s not really necessary that the flight representatives acknowledge my presence.  I don’t need an update if my flight is late.  It is perfectly acceptable that air travel schedules are so fragile that a delay at one airport ripples throughout most of the country.  The airlines and airports handle a lot of luggage, so I shouldn’t get upset when they lose mine and then never give me an allowance, despite what their supposed policy say.  Now, this is really important, it is entirely unreasonable to expect short lines and courteous employee … that is just asking for too much.  I like standing in queue and having someone yell and frown at me with disdain, especially when I pay part of their salary.

Okay, those are my grievances, but what can we do?  The 110th US Congress talked a lot about a Passenger Bill of Rights.  What happened?  Why don’t we consumers have rights and protection?  Do other consumer rights apply to air travelers?  I don’t know, but I do know that customer service stinks from the time you arrive at the airport to the time you leave the airport when you reach your destination.  Now, not all employees and air travel is horrible.

When we flew to Amsterdam, our original flight was “delayed” more like cancelled, as a result of weather.  A dedicated airline representative worked tirelessly to find us another flight.  Raleigh-Durham airport actually found a very important book that I left at the check-in counter … I didn’t even have my name written in the book.  They found the book based on the title I gave them.  My point, as bad as air travel is, it is not a lost cause.  It just needs a major overhaul so that my anecdotal examples are the norm.