The Ongoing War To Create Airline Passenger Bill Of Rights
One of the hottest topics targeted at the aviation industry these days is the public outcry to implement operating rules directed at the airline industry that: (1) recognize certain "rights" for airline passengers; and (2) provide remedies to those persons when such "rights" are violated. Air travel can be for sure a trying experience. Security checkpoints (take off your shoes--remove your laptop to have screened separately), carry on restrictions (deposit liquids, gels, and nail clippers in the box to the side of the conveyor belt please), changed gates, changed baggage claims, rules that "require" you arrive to the airport two hours before your flight and of course, the biggest complaint--delays. These describe only a few common burdens and annoyances the casual and professional traveler must face. With all of the aforementioned rigors being imposed upon the traveling public, perhaps the industry should not be surprised of the consumer revolt now underway that is sponsored at the top by large well organized consumer advocacy groups and range across the spectrum to individuals voicing their most frequent recent displeasure. A war has been seemingly been waged between the airlines and those groups and individuals tired of their perceived current state of affairs of air travel. The common ground shared by each group, however (or so I choose to believe), in its most basic sense is the continued improvement of the industry. The airlines point to the matters that do happen legitimately that are not within their control. For example, changes in weather, instructions from air traffic control, unexpected mechanical problems and anyone one or combination of the same have a ripple effect when a legitimate "hiccup" occurs that delays all subsequent events in the chain of air travel. Consumer groups point to actual events of passengers that have been "stuck" sitting on an aircraft whether at the gate or tarmac for four, five or more hours for no seemingly good reason, stories of over-flowing toilets and of course challenge certain operating procedures such as "overbooking" of flights. .
I do not honestly believe that the airlines disagree with the consumer groups that folks shouldn't have to sit on a plan stuck on a runway for six hours even if a delay is not the initial fault of the airline, or the notion that no one should have to sit on a plane that has commodes overflowing. Belief is one thing and putting a belief into practice is another and unfortunately, the aforementioned events have been known to occur. It is the result of these highly public breakdowns that occur from time to time that has given momentum to the creating of various forms of proposed Airline Passenger Bill of Rights. New York was the first to take action by actually implementing an Airline Passenger Bill of Rights. At the time of this writing, at least nine other states have either sponsored or discussed sponsorship of bills in various forms to do the same (Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Michigan, Missouri, California and Florida). The federal government is also dabbling with the notion of creating a single standardized Airline Passenger Bill of Rights as well. Regardless of one's opinion whether state or federal regulation is appropriate, or, where applicable goes far enough or perhaps too far, there is much that remains undecided. There are legal questions whether the states even have the authority to implement such Bill of Rights and in fact there have been challenges that are not yet fully decided whether the New York law is valid. Assuming for the sake of argument that a court decides that the states, and specifically in this instance, the New York law is invalid or preempted, will purely state law claims be permitted to proceed in lieu of a bill of rights under the guise of health, safety and welfare statutes? Many additional considerations and issues may also come into play that are not now appropriate for discussion in this forum. Aviation is a very unique industry. I am constantly amazed with the many exceptional challenges that have arisen over the course and development of this industry and how at each and every stage along the way the industry has developed successfully. I find it most impressive that a mere 105 years following the time the Wright Brothers first flew successfully in an airplane back in 1903--and putting a man on the moon in between--that in the year 2008 the great public debate is how do we improve on the continued transportation of people and improved comfort and convenience for people and that this is NOT a dissertation whether travel by air is a concept that can be performed safely.
