Further to my previous post on passenger bill of rights (PBOR), Christopher Elliott suggests the airports are sometimes to blame and invites suggestions on how to hold them accountable. I’m yet to be convinced that is needed or warranted. Let the airlines/airports sort out amongst themselves if blame needs to be shared. But having a single party accountable to the passenger would I think work best. This is how dealing with misplaced luggage works.

On a brighter note, Upgrade : Travel Better reports that jetBlue, like American Airlines, is launching a pre-emptive policy for lengthy onboard delays. Will it be enough to satisfy those calling for PBOR? Perhaps not. According to the Chicago Tribune work on drafting a new PBOR law has already commenced. I think there is a lot more mileage yet in this issue.

Musings of the Global Traveller
Thoughts, advice and travel news from around the world by a seasoned frequent flyer.

With Jet Blue the latest airline to keep passengers stranded onboard for hours during last week’s storms, the calls for Passenger Bill of Rights (PBOR) continue unabated. (See this entry on the previous American Airlines incident.)

The Cranky Flier lays out a nice argument about why he is against a Passenger Bill of Rights. I don’t think a PBOR would necessarily increase pre-cancellations of flights, though. After all mass cancelled flights cause headaches for airlines with flow-on effects on schedules for days.

One point The Cranky Flier makes is that the airline will not always be to blame for keeping passengers onboard. This I agree with. However I do not think that is enough justification for not holding airlines accountable if they keep passengers onboard for unreasonably extended periods of time.

The same no fault argument can apply for misplaced luggage (eg when first airline fails to tag bags correctly or airport baggage handlers fail to transfer bags or transfer them to the wrong aircraft). In the case of misplaced luggage there is agreement that the passenger need only deal with the last airline involved in the itinerary. To the extent another airline is at fault the airlines sort out compensation between themselves. I see the same being possible for extended onboard delays. If a second airline is preventing the aircraft in question from using a gate then the two airlines should sort it out between themselves afterwards.

The experience with the EU regulations on cancellations and delays seems to be that penalising the airlines for unduly inconveniencing passengers has a positive effect on the behaviour of the airlines. I think some kind of PBOR may also work.

Musings of the Global Traveller
Thoughts, advice and travel news from around the world by a seasoned frequent flyer.

In a first move to attempt to head off a passenger bill of rights (see this post on why there are renewed calls for one), American Airlines has announced a policy of passengers being stuck onboard a grounded aircraft for no more than 4 hours. The snippet of news from MSNBC is short on details, and is a welcome start. However I think it is unlikely to be enough to silence their critics.

Musings of the Global Traveller
Thoughts, advice and travel news from around the world by a seasoned frequent flyer.

The events of American Airlines flight 1348 late December (when in bad weather passengers were kept in the aircraft on the ground for 9 hours) has led to a renewed call for improved passenger rights. A glance at the blog of Coalition for Stranded Airline Passenger’s Bill of Rights suggests they are asking for more rights than those provided to passengers of EU airlines under their regulations.

Musings of the Global Traveller
Thoughts, advice and travel news from around the world by a seasoned frequent flyer.