If Airlines Want Control, They Gotta Treat Fliers Better

A group of outraged airline fliers has thrust itself into the contentious debate over FAA funding. On Monday, The Coalition for Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights (PBOR) urged Congress to make passenger rights a factor in FAA reauthorization.

"As Congress looks to reauthorize FAA funding this year, they should be using this opportunity to ensure that airlines make passengers' rights a necessary part of FAA reauthorization," group spokesperson Kate Hanni said. "The airlines are currently trying to push through a proposal for FAA reauthorization that will award them big giveaways, and reduce Congressional oversight over our air traffic control system."

The Coalition points to incidents this weekend -- in which hundreds of thousands of passengers were stranded onboard airliners stuck on the tarmac at JFK International -- as proof the airlines are unwilling and unable to police themselves.

"[T]he last thing that they need is to be rewarded by another tax break and less accountability to consumers and Congress," Hanni said.

(Editor's Note: This weekend's storm affected flights for nearly all carriers operating in the Northeast, particularly US Airways, and led to some 3,600 cancellations throughout the grid. Passengers were trapped at JFK onboard flights operated by foreign-owned carriers, such as Cathay Pacific and Virgin Atlantic.)

Hanni noted the airline-supported funding proposal would also slash modernization funds by $600 million, jeopardizing efforts to modernize the air traffic control system.

"As Congress moves forward with FAA reauthorization, we need to ensure that our air traffic control system is modernized with full and adequate funding, and that passengers are guaranteed basic rights so we prevent horrific stories like this one from happening once and for all."

The Coalition was formed earlier this year, in response to a December incident in which passengers were stuck onboard an American Airlines flight in Austin, TX for nearly 10 hours. The group has called on Congress to push through legislation regarding a 'Bill of Rights' that would guarantee better treatment of airline passengers in the future.

FMI: www.strandedpassengers.blogspot.com, www.faa.gov