DOT Floats New Rule to Boost Passengers' Rights

(June 2) -- Airline passengers would carry on a new list of rights -- for more cash when they are bumped off flights and better notification of baggage fees and flight delays -- under a rule issued today by the Department of Transportation.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the measure would "raise the bar for airlines when it comes to treating passengers fairly."

Passenger advocate Kate Hanni, head of FlyersRights.org, said she was thrilled with the proposed changes. "It's going to benefit passengers hugely," she said.

Hanni said she's already seen progress from another rule that recently went into effect requiring airlines not to leave passengers stranded on the tarmac for more than three hours. The rule issued Tuesday expands on requirements that airlines have contingency plans to deal with lengthy tarmac delays.

The airline trade association Air Transport Association said it plans to review the new rule.


As economically strained airlines have reduced the number of seats available, passengers' tempers have flared. Cases of long tarmac delays have also caused a public backlash.

Hanni said public pressure helped get the three-hour limit on tarmac delays passed. Like that measure, the new rule asks for public comment. "People need to know how important it is to get involved," she said.

Hanni would have liked to see the DOT also address the practice of overbooking flights. While airlines sell on average 10 percent more seats than they have to hedge against absentee passengers, she said some flights are overbooked by much larger amounts, leaving passengers grounded. Hanni said airlines ought to be limited to overbooking by only about 12 percent.

An average of 1.73 passengers get involuntarily bumped from flights out of every 10,000, according to DOT spokesman Bill Mosley. That number is up from 1.35 a year ago. Others choose to be bumped, in exchange for travel vouchers.

Many travelers don't know that if they are involuntarily bumped they are entitled to cash compensation, not just travel vouchers. The new rule would require airlines to tell passengers that. And the amount they get would increase from $800 to $1,300 for those delayed more than two hours on domestic flights or four hours on international trips. Travelers delayed less than that would get $650 -- up from $400 currently. Those figures would be updated each year for inflation.

"It's an inconvenience to passengers to be there at the airport and ready to fly and be told you can't fly," Mosley said.

The new rule also requires airlines to do a better job notifying travelers of flights delays and of baggage fees. Airlines would have to include taxes and fees when they advertise their fares. And travelers would get 24 hours to cancel a flight after booking without penalty.

The new rule likely would take effect next spring, after 60 days of public comment and then revisions and a six-month waiting period.

Hanni said one little-noticed provision of the measure would be a big help to consumers: allowing them to sue airlines in state court. Federal courts, where they sue now, involve more expense and are harder to win in for consumers, she said.

DOT also is relying on public input to decide one delicate issue -- how to deal with peanut allergies. Airlines now set their own rules on whether to serve peanuts, which can cause severe allergic reactions in some individuals when served near them on flights. DOT offers three options: quit serving peanuts on planes, ban them on flights where a passenger has notified the airline of an allergy or serve them but create a buffer zone within the cabin where they aren't allowed.

DOT makes available statistics on which airlines are most likely to be on time, lose your luggage or bump you. You can find them here.