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Washington, DC -- Concerned about the unacceptable state of air travel in America, U.S. Rep. Ron Klein Tuesday will be introducing an amendment to H.R. 2881, the “FAA Reauthorization Act of 2007,” which will strengthen consumer protections to airline passengers by expanding the government’s ability to investigate fraudulent and reckless airline practices. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider H.R. 2881 along with amendments on Thursday.
“When a passenger’s business trip or vacation is ruined due to a cancelled flight, or when a passenger’s bags have been lost by the airline and months later, they’re still without their luggage, something is wrong,” said Klein. “For these reasons and many more, I’m introducing an amendment, which will strengthen the rights and abilities of airline passengers to contest and crack down on these negligent practices by the airline industry.
“The Klein Amendment expands the Department of Transportation’s ability to investigate fraudulent and reckless practices by airlines. The amendment is in response to large numbers of complaints by constituents, as well as a recent report issued by the Inspector General -- the independent and non-partisan arm of the Department of Transportation -- which found that the Bush Administration is failing to adequately protect consumers by enforcing consumer protection laws. The amendment would require a higher level of attention and oversight from the government to the rights of travelers.”
Klein’s amendment will expand the U.S. Department of Transportation’s ability to investigate consumer complaints regarding the following:
Flight cancellations
Overselling of seats on flights
Lost, damaged, or delayed baggage
Problems in obtaining refunds for lost tickets or fare adjustments
Incorrect information about fares, discount fare conditions or overcharges and fare increases
The rights of passengers who hold frequent flyer milers
Deceptive or misleading advertising
The U.S. Department of Transportation has the ability to issue fines up to $2,500 each to airline carriers that violate federal standards. However, citing budget shortfalls, the Department of Transportation has failed to follow up on thousands of passenger complaints, instead, choosing to only investigate complaints relating to discrimination and handicap accessibility. In fact, many of the complaints made by passengers are logged and reported on a monthly basis, with nothing else being done to alleviate their concerns. Furthermore, the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General made it clear that the Department should be doing more to respond to these concerns in an April 2007 report to Congress.
Klein’s amendment is a companion to an amendment introduced in the Senate by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (NJ). The Senate’s version of the FAA Reauthorization bill contains Lautenberg’s language. Klein’s bill would insert these consumer safety provisions in the House’s version of the FAA Reauthorization bill.
“Back in 1999, the airline industry promised Congress they would clean up their egregious and unacceptable treatment toward passengers,” said Klein. “Then 9-11 hit and Congress gave them a break. Eight years later, we’re back where we started. In fact, the problem has worsened. It’s critical that Congress now step in if the industry or the Bush Administration won’t deal with it.”
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