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Flights
of Discontent
There's still no "passenger bill of rights," and poor service is straining many relationships |
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HOMEPAGE ADVICE
FAMILIES
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Lost baggage. Delays. Missed connections. Long check-in lines. Poor food, surly agents and oversold flights. Stalled honeymoons, missed meetings, sour ends to vacations. Fares that seem less than fair. |
Read the official government report on airline complaints
Delays RelationTrips
Delays Page
How
to fly defensively
On-Time
Database
How
to combat stress
The
issues – and how to lessen the chances of something going wrong
How does the modern airline
passenger cope with commonplace problems such as delays, lost baggage,
and overbooked flights?
Problem: Airlines have not always shared with passengers the best available information about the most vexing problem in commercial aviation -- delays, cancellations and diversions. More than 2 million flights were delayed last year, while 154,000 were canceled. Nor have airlines always met passengers’ needs when they’re stuck in an aircraft on the ground for a long period. At 28 major airports between 1995 and 1999, the number of flights stuck on the ground for more than an hour after leaving the gate increased 130%. Finding: Though some airlines are updating information more frequently, passengers are often given inaccurate, incomplete or unreliable information. Some delays and cancellations are blamed on air traffic controlers rather than mechanical problems or crew shortages. Weather is not as often the cause as it seems. Also, some flights are misidentified on monitors and by ticket agents as “on time.” And some passengers weren’t
told about delays known to airlines for up to four hours before
What you can do: Realize that airlines don’t guarantee their schedules, and at many airports you have a good chance of being delayed. Travel defensively: Take an earlier flight, giving yourself a little leeway – and book a flight earlier in the day, when delays are less likely and when you’ll have more rerouting options. When scheduling connections,
make sure you have plenty of time between flights. And when making a reservation,
ask the agent for the “on-time performance code” – a number that reveals
how often the flight arrives on time.
Problem: Checked luggage sometimes gets lost, delayed, damaged or stolen. Passengers filed more than 2.5 million reports of mishandled baggage last year, an average of five claims for every 1,000 passengers. Finding: Most bags arrive with passengers, on time. New technology may be helping track lost luggage. Airlines pay up to $2,500 per passenger, for lost, damaged or delayed luggage – but they don’t have to pay more, even if the lost items were worth more. But passengers don’t necessarily know about the coverage. What You Can Do: Pack to avoid problems. Never check jewelry, cameras and other valuables, or keys, passports, business papers, or items of sentimental value. Best way to protect possessions
from damage or loss: Keep them with you. Don’t check in at the last minute
– your bag may miss the flight. Double-check
Problem: Airlines sometimes required payment of nonrefundable tickets within 24 hours – or losing the reservation or risking losing the fare. Finding: Where a purchase was required, airlines did not tell customers they could receive a refund if canceling within 24 hours. What you can do: Ask if the
option is available.
Problem: Airlines did not always offer the lowest fare available. Finding: Lowest fare still not always offered by reservation agents. What You Can Do: Be flexible about when you fly. Demand the lowest fare available. Ask if the fare would be lower at ticket offices, counters or on the Internet. Remind the reservation or
sales agent that the inspector general’s troops are continuing to check
up on the airlines about this through October, and you should be
Problem: Because of no-shows, airlines oversell flights and sometimes “bump,” or deny boarding, to extra passengers. Finding: Individual airlines are inconsistent and ambiguous about how early to check in, and where. This is important, since passengers checking in last are most likely to be “bumped.” Airlines do not volunteer the information when a flight is overbooked. What you can do: Get to the
airport early: Last to check in are the first to be “bumped.” Assume the
worst: Traffic jams on the way, long lines, full parking lots.
Alaska Airlines
>> Better amenites for delays over two hours (meals, phone cards, gifts) >> New software to keep passengers informed of problems >> More self-check-in facilities
Continental Airlines
>> New service centers to help with re-bookings and hotels >> Self-service kiosks to reduce waiting times >> Larger overhead luggage
bins on 294 planes
Delta Air Lines
>> $1 billion in TV screens and technology to better inform passengers >> New self-ticketing kiosks
to reuce waiting times
Northwest Airlines
>> Special phones to help passengers rebook after delayed flights >> Handheld computers to reduce check-in times >> Discount vouchers when
luggage is delayed
Trans World Airlines
>> Calling customers at home for delays over two hours >> On-time task force seeking
to reduce delays
United Air Lines
>> Mobile workstations to reduce lines during delays >> 850 scanners to track baggage >> “Extended delay” food
kits on all flights for hungry passengers
US Airways
>> More spare planes
What
to do if you have
AT THE AIRPORT Give the airline a chance
to resolve the problem. Seek out a customer service representative. They
can write checks, arrange meals and hotel rooms, arrange
IF THAT DOESN’T WORK File a complaint with the airline. Keep all receipts, stubs, boarding passes. Contact the airline’s consumer office. Complaints can be written or emailed. Remember to: >> Write as briefly as possible, less than a page >> Stay focused on the central issue, rather than cluttering your letter with different issues. >> Don’t rant, rail or exaggerate – keep the tone businesslike. Sound reasonable. >> If you’re a regular customer or frequent flier, mention it. >> Describe events, giving dates, locations, flight numbers and times. >> Include important contact
information, such as your address and phone number.
>> Mention any special inconvenience or monetary loss. >> Propose a solution – what you want the airline to do. Be specific. File a complaint wth the
Complaints can be emailed at www.dot.gov/airconsumer Other sites of interest: www.bts.gov/ntda/oai/search.htm
www.oig.dot.gov
www.biztraveler.org
www.acap1971.org
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the longest of my life."
One night, returning from an eighth-grade
trip in which he hiked the Grand Canyon, learned to raft, and explored
Navajo culture, 15-year-old Matthew Trevithick
Trevithick’s plane from Albuquerque was
an hour late into Dallas, long enough for his class to miss the last connection
to Boston. The boy’s counselors tried
Eventually, the airline gave Trevithick
and his 12 classmates stale ham sandwiches for dinner, and thin, pointless
blankets. Fifty-dollar coupons for a future flight
“That night seemed forever – the longest of my life,” he says. “I can’t believe a big airline wouldn’t even put us in a cheap hotel.” When Jeff Worthington, an executive at
a Philadelphia Internet startup, set off for Alaska, he got more of an
adventure than he bargained for – once again, thanks
Troubles began at the airport in Fairbanks: No backpack. It was tracked down and found – in Minneapolis. Without it, he couldn’t meet a friend who had set up camp somewhere deep in the Denali wilderness. The airline offered to let him make a telephone call. Worthington put himself up in a hotel, and waited. His pack eventually arrived, and he eventually found his friend – after they’d spent hours on shuttle buses crossing 85 miles of Denali National Park searching for each other. “The airline did offer to deliver it to my destination,” said Worthington. “But in this case my baggage was my destination.” The secret of life may be enjoying the
journey rather than the destination, but that assumes the journey begins
– and not necessarily on a regularly scheduled (often
Nearly 675 million people will be transported on eight million flights this year, mostly without slip-up, psychological sacrifice or snag. Yet by current estimates, a record number of passengers – somewhere between 240,000 and 960,000 – will be angry enough to formally complain to airlines or the government. In 1999, after hundreds of people in Detroit
were stuck for more than eight hours on snowbound runways – drawing attention
to the soaring numbers of
The airlines responded with timely campaign
contributions and a persuasive flight plan of their own. To avert the turbulence
of legislation, they made specific
Now, more than a year later, how are they
doing? Not too well, according to an investigation by the Department of
Transportation’s inspector general, Kenneth
Result: Passengers still are indignant
enough to do more than shout at gate agents, fling carry-ons at the wall,
take out their hostility on each other, or sit quietly and
In the first four months of this year,
formal consumer complaints to the government soared from 3,985 to 6,916
over the same period last year, a 74% increase.
David Fuscus, a vice president of the Air Transport Association, says “we’re making progress” and vows that “things will continue to get better.” The inspector general’s review, however, implies that the journey had hardly begun. - Keith Epstein
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