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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Airline Double-Talk
Cheap Charlie · June 30, 1999

Let me begin by saying that I have sent letters to congressmen and senators involved with the Passenger Bill of Rights urging them to allow the airlines to come up with their own solution to customer service problems.

I do not believe in government regulations because they cannot deal with extreme situations. I am afraid that government regulation will mean less customer service rather than more.

That said, the most recent airline proposal seems to be nothing more than an open acknowledgment of their everyday policies. Unfortunately, these policies have been shrouded in semi-secrecy. However, they have always been available to the flying public if they request a copy.

I read the AP and Wall Street Journal news reports and then went into the Air Transport Association site to make sure what I had read was accurate. This proposal from the airlines is a sham.

Anyone can pick up a copy of my book Travel Rights and find that these have been airline policies for years! The only news here is that airlines now are trumpeting loudly what they have always been doing. Here is a quick rundown:

Proposed policy: Airlines will inform customers of the lowest fare available. Current policy: Airlines will tell anyone who asks about the lowest fares; all advertisements feature lowest fares every day.

Proposed policy: Airlines will notify passengers of known delays.
Current policy: Airlines take your phone number to inform passengers of known delays and flight changes.

Proposed policy: Airlines will allow reservations to be held without payment for 24 hours.
Current policy: Airlines will allow reservations to be held until 11 p.m. or midnight of the night after making the reservations without payment. This could be more than 24 hours.

Proposed policy: Airlines will accommodate disabled passengers.
Current policy: Airlines accommodate disabled passengers.

Proposed policy: Airlines will make prompt refunds.
Current policy: Airlines make prompt refunds of all refundable tickets. With credit cards the refund is virtually instantaneous. With checks the delay is 20 business days.

So what's new?

Maybe the increase in airline liability for lost luggage. But the fact of the matter is that airlines rarely lose baggage; they simply misplace it for a time, normally less than 24 hours.

That's all I can find.

Maybe I'm wrong about the airlines after all. Maybe they do need government intervention. Airlines just don't seem get it. They are certainly working hard at leaving their supporters speechless.

I feel mugged.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at cheapch@aol.com or access his Web site.