September 23, 2010
Moves by US regulators to boost airline passenger protections amount to a damaging effort to re-regulate the industry, according to airline lobbying group IATA.
A report in the Financial Times refers to a series of new rules proposed by US officials including requirements for airlines to disclose bag fees, develop contingency plans for lengthy delays and increase compensation for passengers bumped due to overbooking.
Ray LaHood, US Transportation Secretary, said that the Department of Transportation was seeking to "raise the bar" for airlines. He said that "airline passengers have rights and should be able to expect fair and reasonable treatment."
But in a 26-page letter submitted to the DoT on Wednesday, the International Air Transport Association described the rules as unnecessary, counter-productive and potentially illegal.
"This is the greatest re-regulation of the industry since the 1970s," said Douglas Lavin, regional vice-president for IATA in North America, referring to the period when airlines were run as tightly controlled public utilities.
"It is an unprecedented intervention into the operations of a private industry... this basically suggests that the government knows best and tells us hour by hour how to run private companies."
For example, the DoT’s proposed rules include three alternatives to limit the provision of peanuts on board aircraft in order "to provide greater access to air travel for individuals with severe peanut allergies."
IATA voiced particular concerns about the extent to which the new rules would impose obligations on foreign carriers.
(Airwise)
Moves by US regulators to boost airline passenger protections amount to a damaging effort to re-regulate the industry, according to airline lobbying group IATA.
A report in the Financial Times refers to a series of new rules proposed by US officials including requirements for airlines to disclose bag fees, develop contingency plans for lengthy delays and increase compensation for passengers bumped due to overbooking.
Ray LaHood, US Transportation Secretary, said that the Department of Transportation was seeking to "raise the bar" for airlines. He said that "airline passengers have rights and should be able to expect fair and reasonable treatment."
But in a 26-page letter submitted to the DoT on Wednesday, the International Air Transport Association described the rules as unnecessary, counter-productive and potentially illegal.
"This is the greatest re-regulation of the industry since the 1970s," said Douglas Lavin, regional vice-president for IATA in North America, referring to the period when airlines were run as tightly controlled public utilities.
"It is an unprecedented intervention into the operations of a private industry... this basically suggests that the government knows best and tells us hour by hour how to run private companies."
For example, the DoT’s proposed rules include three alternatives to limit the provision of peanuts on board aircraft in order "to provide greater access to air travel for individuals with severe peanut allergies."
IATA voiced particular concerns about the extent to which the new rules would impose obligations on foreign carriers.
(Airwise)
