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Washington, DC -- Continuing his mission to restore fairness and courtesy to air travel, U.S. Rep. Ron Klein (FL-22) successfully passed an amendment on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday that strengthens the rights of airline passengers by expanding the government’s ability to investigate fraudulent and reckless airline practices.
Klein introduced his amendment to H.R. 2881, the FAA Reauthorization Bill of 2007, earlier this week in response to complaints from constituents and in a response to a report issued by the non-partisan Inspector General, which found that the Bush Administration is failing to adequately protect consumers by enforcing consumer protection laws.
“When it comes to the rights of those traveling on airplanes, common sense dictates that we should be moving forward toward strengthening those rights, not backward,” said Klein. “With the House’s passage of my Amendment today, we’re one step closer toward making sure that complaints filed by airline passengers are heard and that they are responded to in a quick, responsible manner.
“My Amendment does not reinvent the wheel. Rather, it forces the government to give better attention to the rights of travelers by expanding the Department of Transportation’s complaints division, providing them more authority and resources to investigate a wide range of consumer complaints.”
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 customers concerns.
Klein’s Amendment expands the U.S. Department of Transportation’s ability to investigate consumer complaints regarding: 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; and deceptive or misleading advertising.
“Some of the horror stories I’ve heard from my constituents regarding experiences they’ve had while flying are not only repugnant, but inexcusable. Last minute flight cancellations with no reason given, leaving passengers stranded in some instances, for days. Bags that have been lost for months.
“Unfortunately, air travel has deteriorated to an alarming and unacceptable state over the past few years. If the airline industry won’t clean up its act, then Congress needs to step in and crack down on any pattern of abuses so passengers can be treated fairly and with respect. With the passage of my common sense Amendment today, I’m proud to play a part in this important effort.
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