The Passenger Bill of Rights for the airline industry

Ivan Seeking

http://abcnews.go.com/US/jetblue-fli...ry?id=11361298

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...k_trying_.html

nismaratwork

Yeah... and the result is that he has to attend counseling. It's not as though the man is a heroin addict or that he's going to return to a life of crime, so invoking the possible sentence is incredibly unlikely.

I'd add, this guy was there as his JOB, he used the intercom to curse people out, stole beer, and then left. I think you can make a MUCH better case when your plane is stuck on the tarmac after a double-digit overseas flight, up to 11 HOURS. No theft, no cursing, just escape from unfit conditions... the only real loss is that where the other passengers can hope to sue and settle, you've cashed in that chance to get out of the aluminum tube.

Ivan Seeking

The existing fine is $27,500. That is already the law. Why let the government have all of the money?

I still don't see how anyone could conspire to delay a flight without getting arrested in the process. How exactly would one pull this off?

I would add that missing a bus is an inconvenience, being held hostage in a sardine can for six or eight hours is quite another thing. I can esp testify to this as I start getting claustrophobic. It's not a fear reaction in the classic sense of the word, rather I would describe it more as Chinese water torture. After a point I feel I am about to crawl out of my skin. I've learned to deal with this as a traveler, but when we start talking about three to six hours waiting to take off for a long flight, I can easily reach my limit. There have certainly been times when I would have gladly eaten the price of the ticket just to get the hell out of there. But the only way to do that was to get arrested or fake a heart attack [Or, in the case of my trip to Lima, get shot!].

nismaratwork

re: bold: AFAIK it's a federal offense to knowingly do that, even if your means are legal. Realistically, you'd have to phone in a bomb scare or some 1980's prank-movie BS, and as you say... hence arrest, hence federal prison.


BTW Ivan, your reaction to confinement isn't exactly how everyone reacts, but it's not phobic or very abnormal. You could probably use some basic therapeutic techniques to handle the most acute experience possible... as you did in avoiding the wrong end of a gun. Then, if all else fails... benzodiazapines or a hypnotic until you reach destination B.

Ivan Seeking

A few related thoughts here...

Firstly, this isn't about delayed flights. It is about having no means of exiting the plane once it has left the gate. No matter why a flight is delayed, people shouldn't be forced to sit in a can for hours, against their will. Even if the passengers were offered the option to pay a surcharge for deplaning, it would at least provide a means of escape. Simply surrendering one's seat and having to catch another flight, would probably be enough to prevent abuse.

Also, it seems to me that this is a systemic problem that has been ignored because there was no incentive to address the problem. Now there is.

Next, the fine of $27.5K per head was likely chosen because it was considered a reasonable incentive for the airline. That amount is not determined by the level of inconvenience [or torture] to the passengers.

Given the level of incentive required, whatever the number is, most of it should go to the victims.

Again, it does bother me that once the limit has been exceeded, there is no additional incentive for the airline to remedy the situation. A per-hour charge after some minimum makes the most sense.

I would like to see market competition for the lowest minimum tarmac time before penalties apply. [e.g. Fly Delta and you could win the lottery! ] To a large extent, this would force the airline industry to stop treating the flying public like cattle.

Al68

I already agreed that government shouldn't get any of it. But the $27,500 isn't levied for for every delay, it's discretionary, and is only levied for a fraction of delays.

It seems more reasonable to reduce the amount, but make it a contractual obligation between the airline and its customers, so that it gets paid regardless of whether government is feeling frisky or not. A smaller amount paid every time could be a larger incentive to the airline than a larger amount levied sporadically at the whim of a government agency.

It could even be a progressive system, where the hourly rate gets exponentially higher for each subsequent hour. That would simultaneously be a big incentive for the airline not to have unreasonably long delays, and not be an incentive for the airline to rush safety precautions just to prevent short delays.