Congress Passes FAA Improvements

[Mike from back east]

Finally, some help for travelers. The President is expected to sign the bill. Story in the NY Times.



Excerpts (paraphrased):

The legislation, which funds federal aviation programs for the next five years, cements new passenger protections, adds new routes and lets the T.S.A. continue to expand facial recognition programs. Here’s what you need to know.

Automatic refunds for significant flight disruptions, fee-free family seating and accessibility improvements.

Those are among the benefits for travelers in the bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for five more years, which Congress passed on Wednesday.

The F.A.A. oversees all plane traffic in the United States, ... grants $105 billion to the agency and $738 million to the National Transportation Safety Board. In addition to strengthening passenger protections, it will pay for airport infrastructure, salaries and safety programs, and take aim at the air traffic controller shortage.

Here are some of the bill’s highlights for travelers.

- automatic refunds for passengers when a flight is significantly delayed or canceled (beyond three hours for a domestic flight and six hours for an international flight). Customers will not need to request these refunds. And airline credits must be valid for five years.

- expand the use of facial recognition technology at hundreds of airports throughout the United States.

- Airlines cannot charge families with young children extra fees so that they can sit together.

- better treatment of disabled passengers

- triples the fines airlines will pay per each violation

- more air traffic controllers, training, etc

[StealthRabbit]

Sounds expensive.

For airlines, trickles down to customers .....and Pete is wondering why the legacy airlines are suing the government. ..

Sad when the legislators are that lacking in business sense.

Sell your airline stocks, as profits are under more pressure. There's a. easier way to make a living. Become a legislator!

[prospectheightsresident]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Sounds expensive.

For airlines, trickles down to customers .....and Pete is wondering why the legacy airlines are suing the government. ..

Sad when the legislators are that lacking in business sense.

Sell your airline stocks, as profits are under more pressure. There's a. easier way to make a living. Become a legislator!

Not that I disagree in theory, but I wonder what has kept prices down in Europe, which has even more generous consumer protection airline rules

[rjs54321]

EU regulation EC 261/2004, .....I'm a big fan!

[prospectheightsresident]

Originally Posted by rjs54321

EU regulation EC 261/2004, .....I'm a big fan!

If this is in response to my post, I understand that this is what led to some of the consumer-friendly policies across Europe. That said, prices in Europe are still pretty cheap, which is the opposite of what some claim would happen under less consumer-friendly regulations in the U.S.