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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Into Thin Air
Cheap Charlie · April 16, 2001

I'm tired of complaining into thin air.

I know I'm heard. Heck, I get pages full of emails either agreeing or disagreeing with my point of view. I'm sure there is some benefit to getting the word out about travel problems and getting the most for your money.

But the real power for change lies within the Beltway in the hands of the members of Congress. In the next few columns, I am going to outline the members of different committees and offices in Washington who can make a difference.

This way, you, the readers will have a clear idea of where to aim your concerns and complaints with maximum effectiveness. This week, I'm highlighting the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

These are the heavy hitters in the Senate. These are the people who can ensure that customer service becomes a reality rather than an unfulfilled promise. These are the men and women who can either put teeth into the laws, or leave the hands of the DOT and FAA tied by no enforcement provisions.

These are the Senators at whom airlines aim their PAC monies whenever there are big aviation decisions being made. These are the Senators to whom we should regularly and ceaselessly aim our complaints and suggestions for a better air transportation system.

The work that these senators are doing is very important. They have just introduced this bill that sounds wonderful. It needs everyone's support.

The bill would do the following:

  • Require DOT to devote more resources to airline customer service.

  • Require DOT to issue a rulemaking increasing the compensation passengers receive from airlines when they are involuntarily bumped.

  • Require DOT to change the way it calculates mishandled baggage statistics so that only passengers who check bags are counted.

  • Require major airlines to disclose on time performance of flights when buying a ticket or making a reservation, and on the Internet.

  • Require major airlines to report to DOT within 90 days their efforts to establish targets for reducing chronically delayed flights.
The substitute amendment added the following provisions to strengthen customer protections:
  • Require the major airlines to incorporate their current customer service plans into their contract of carriage, which can be legally enforced by consumers, rather than the more general Airline Customer Service Commitment which was in the original bill.

  • Clarify the definitions of chronically delayed and chronically canceled flights.

  • Require DOT to prescribe regulations to establish minimum standards for emergency medical and first-aid equipment carried aboard aircraft with 30 or more seats.

I think every traveler can agree with those goals. Hopefully it may happen with the support of the traveling public. You can bet your bottom dollar that the airlines will be doing everything they can to make everything "voluntary" and eliminate any enforcement provisions.

Now without further ramblings, here are the name, phone numbers, fax numbers, and most e-mail address of current members of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee:

Republicans

Chairman

John McCain, Arizona, tel. (202) 224-2235; fax (202) 228-2862

John_McCain@McCain.senate.gov

Ted Stevens, Alaska, tel. (202) 224-3004; fax (202) 224-2354

Senator_Stevens@stevens.senate.gov

Conrad Burns, Montana; tel. (202) 224-2644

Conrad_Burns@burns.senate.gov

Trent Lott, Mississippi, tel. (202) 224-6253; fax (202) 224-2262

Senatorlott@lott.senate.gov

Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas, tel. (202) 224-5922; fax (202) 224-0776

Senator@hutchison.senate.gov

Olympia J. Snowe, Maine, tel. (202) 224-5344; fax (202) 224-1946

Olympia@snowe.senate.gov

Sam Brownback, Kansas, tel. (202) 224-6521; fax (202) 228 1265.

Gordon Smith, Oregon, tel. (202) 224-3753; fax (202) 228-3997

oregon@gsmith.senate.gov

Peter G. Fitzgerald, Illinois, tel. (202) 224-2854; fax (202) 228-1372

senator_fitzgerald@fitzgerald.senate.gov

John Ensign, Nevada, tel. (202) 224-6244; fax (202) 228-2193

senator@ensign.senate.gov

George Allen, Virginia, tel. (202) 224-4024

Democrats

Ernest F. Hollings, South Carolina, tel. (202) 224-612l; fax (202) 224-4293.

Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii, tel. (202) 224-3934.

John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia, tel. (202) 224-6472; fax (202) 224-7665

senator@rockefeller.senate.gov

John F. Kerry, Massachusetts; tel. (202) 224-2742; fax (202) 224-8525

John_Kerry@kerry.senate.gov

John B. Breaux, Louisiana, tel. (202) 224-4623; fax (202) 228-2577

Byron L. Dorgan, North Dakota; tel. (202) 224-2551; fax (202) 224-1193

Ron Wyden, Oregon, tel. (202) 224-5244; fax (202) 228-2717

Max Cleland, Georgia, tel. (202) 224-3521; fax (202) 224-0072

Barbara Boxer, California, tel. (202) 224-3553; fax (202) 228-1338

senator@boxer.senate.gov

John Edwards, North Carolina, tel. (202) 224-3154, fax (202) 228-1374

senator@edwards.senate.gov

Jean Carnahan, Missouri, tel. (202) 224-6154

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 leocha@aol.com or access his Web site.