Dashboard To Dish And Serve Up Information On Airlines

Later this week, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) under the direction of Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, will be launching an Airline Customer Service Dashboard which aims to “ensure the traveling public has easy access to information about services that U.S. airlines provide to mitigate passenger inconveniences when the cause of a cancellation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control”.

The DOT is hopeful that by dishing and serving up information about “services that U.S. airlines provide to mitigate passenger inconveniences when they [the airline] cause a cancellation or delay that is due to causes within their control, the public is equipped to hold the airlines’ feet to the proverbial fire.

Presently, the “dashboard” dishes on the following airlines: Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United. Additionally it offers some at-a-glance indications airline commitments via green check mark or red “x” for each applicable ‘service or amenity’ across two main categories… “Controllable Cancellations” and “Controllable Delays”.  A green check mark means an airline has committed to providing that service or amenity to its customers. A red “x” means the airline has not made that commitment, but its at their discretion whether comparable relief is offered to the traveler.

Furthermore, there is some filtering capability via a “Carrier” drop down box near the top third of the screen, and also some filtering/sorting ability within the table. Individuals seeking something more concrete can download a pdf file which contains the same information.

No word yet on how often that information would be updated.

The DOT reminds travelers that the aforementioned commitments do not impact their entitlement to a refund for the controllable delays/cancellations.

“If an airline cancels a passenger’s flight or makes a significant change in the flight, regardless of the reason, airlines are required to provide a prompt refund to a ticketed passenger, including those with non-refundable tickets, should the passenger choose not to accept the alternative offered, such as rebooking on another flight”.

FMI: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-customer-service-dashboard