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Big Air For Sale
Cheap Charlie · November 10, 1999

I know that you have heard from me about the failure of Congress to promote anything more than lip service when it came to the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights this past summer.

There was plenty of sound and fury, but when push came to shove, the passengers lost and the big airlines won.

Their "initiative" was accepted by Congress after several hearings of clear passenger abuse. I suspected at the time that there was more than met the eye. Virtually every witness called before the transportation committee had nothing good to say about airline service.

In fact, they recited a litany of bad service experiences, from being stranded on the runway during a snowstorm for hours to a total lack of information.

After all the testimony was over, the Air Transport Association decided to approach the committee to suggest that the airlines would voluntarily mend their ways.

As I wrote in an earlier column, their solution was simply to publicly list their policies that previously were hidden behind the ticket counter.

In essence, nothing changed.

All of a sudden, Congressmen were singing a different tune. Though the airlines didn't take the stand in front of the committee, they took a strong stand behind the scenes through lobbying and palm greasing.

Earlier this month, Common Cause stated it clearly. Remember this when you find yourself paying more for worse service, it suggested. Remember it when you vote:

"In all, transportation interests gave $2,740,700 in soft money during the first half of 1999, more than three times the $759,206 it gave during the first half of 1995. The transportation industry's soft money donations ballooned this spring in response to several key bills in Congress involving transportation issues.

"When consumer outrage over mind-boggling flight delays and other airline inefficiencies reached a boiling point earlier this year, several legislative proposals for an airline passenger 'bill of rights' were offered. Trying to avoid further regulation, the airline industry has fought these attempts with a flurry of lobbying, as well as contributing $1,024,594 in soft money to both parties during the first half of 1999."

Check out the full report if you're interested.

When all the dust settles, the best way to get good service is by knowing what you can reasonably expect from the airlines. Go through my book, Travel Rights. Take time to follow the links in my earlier columns regarding the individual airline Customer Service Initiatives.

If you know what to expect and what to ask for, you won't be as disappointed and will know what they may reasonably do for you.

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 charlie@ticked.com or access his Web site.