The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) has issued the following statement regarding legislation or other regulatory action to assure that passengers are treated properly by airlines when unexpected circumstances, such as weather disruptions, arise :

"ASTA believes it is clear beyond debate that, absent an unforeseen but clear present threat to safety, passengers should not be forced to remain on aircraft without adequate food, water and toilet facilities for periods such as eight or more hours waiting to take off. That said, any solutions that are developed must be measured and appropriate to the circumstances at hand and should not create new problems worse than those sought to be cured.

Given the attention that recent mishandling of passengers by American Airlines and Jet Blue have attracted, it would have been easy for ASTA to fuel the fire with demands for an elaborate ‘Bill of Rights’ for all airline passengers. Instead, we have approached the Air Transport Association (ATA) with the objective of a collaborative dialogue about the solutions to these issues, which go well beyond aircraft mired in snowstorms. ATA has indicated an interest in such dialogue, and we hope that it will commence very shortly.

ASTA believes that one potential path to a solution may lie in creating a regime in which there is proportionality between delay and length of next flight segment as the basis for when passengers must be given the right to deplane.

Other key elements of any ‘Bill of Rights’ should focus on the issue of information: what must be provided to customers and when. Each airline should also be prepared to make necessary investments that will assure communication between the components responsible for rational decision-making and execution in crisis situations."

ASTA president and CEO Cheryl Hudak, CTC said that ASTA would not accept the argument that these problems are “too infrequent, affect too few passengers, are too unpredictable to warrant more than apologies. Nor should airlines avoid responsibility by claiming that these incidents are too costly to cure on an assured basis.”

“ASTA believes that airlines must, as Jet Blue is trying to do, recognize their responsibility in these situations and take concrete steps to address the issues before they arise again,” said Hudak. “We are anxious to work with consumers, airlines and other interested and responsible parties to find solutions that protect consumers’ interests and are economically and practically attainable.”

ASTA had advocated a legislated bill of rights prior to the September 11 attacks in 2001 and its continued pressure ultimately led to the implementation of the ‘voluntary service commitments’ to which most major airlines subscribed in June 1999.

The organization however, has been critical of the service commitments because they are not mandatory and there is no effective enforcement mechanism.

The Inspector General of the Department of Transportation issued a report in November 2006, which found, among other issues, that:

• Quality assurance and performance measurement systems are being implemented at just five of the ATA airlines [through which 14 adhered to the commitments]

• Information being provided about delays and cancellations in boarding areas was not timely or adequate

• Twelve of the 15 airlines and their contractor personnel who interact with passengers with disabilities were not complying with the training requirements of [governing regulations] or with their own policies

• Nine airlines were not adhering to their own policies for compensating [bumped] passengers
 
Hudak said the findings were disturbing and suggested larger problems exist regarding airline compliance with the principles of the commitments.

“At the same time,” she said, “being informed by the country’s experience with security measures after the 9/11 attacks, ASTA believes everyone interested in these issues must be sensitive to the problem of unintended consequences that can arise from regulatory strictures imposed on a very complex and highly networked system.”