Airlines’ Bid to Improve Service Faces Criticism
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WASHINGTON — The nation’s major airlines tried to quell a storm of congressional and passenger dissatisfaction Wednesday by announcing detailed plans aimed at improving customer service.
But Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who had filed mandatory passenger rights legislation before the airlines made their voluntary proposals, called the airlines’ plan “nothing but legalistic gobbledygook, which [does] nothing to protect passengers.”
On Wednesday, he offered two measures requiring airlines to reveal when they overbook a flight and to ensure that they offer passengers the lowest available fare.
In general, the airlines said that nonrefundable tickets will no longer be nonrefundable, if canceled in 24 hours; the airlines also promised not to keep passengers in the dark when a flight is delayed or threatened with cancellation; and they pledged to help passengers trapped for long periods in planes stuck on runways by weather and heavy traffic.
United Airlines, the world’s largest air carrier, said it will deploy battery-powered “chariots” at its Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver and Dulles, Va., hubs that can be rolled into service during flight disruptions to change passenger tickets and offer other services.
It also said it would station attendants at baggage claim areas with hand-held devices that can tell a customer--by virtue of scanning done in route--exactly where a piece of delayed luggage is and when it will arrive.
Delta Air Lines, the third-biggest carrier, said it will call passengers if there is more than two hours’ notice of a flight cancellation.
No. 2 American Airlines didn’t disclosed its plans Wednesday.
In June, the airline industry offered a voluntary plan to improve service. The airlines also pledged to detail how they would fulfill those promises by Wednesday and implement their new code of conduct by Dec. 15.
A congressional study released this week said June’s broad outline lacked legal backing and guaranteed some things already required by law.
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