Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines Agree to Passenger Protections

We applaud the DOT for exercising its clear authority to review airline combinations. Congress gave DOT the ability to review the effects of a proposed airline merger on competition and the public interest. While industry likes to characterize the Deregulation Act as prohibiting any type of regulation or oversight by the DOT, it is clear that this is not what the Act originally intended. Actions by DOT to preserve competition and prevent unfair practices have been long overdue. The Alaska-Hawaiian conditions are one of several actions that the DOT has taken in the past two years to protect passengers.

The conditions placed on the airline by DOT are intended to prevent the unfair and ubiquitous practice of frequent flyer mile devaluation and to guarantee the continuation of rural and remote routes in Alaska and Hawaii. The requirements also prohibit any junk fees related to flights purchased with rewards, prevent fees for sitting next to your young children, and require delay compensation for significant and controllable flight delays.

After 45 years of airline deregulation, Congress must do a comprehensive review of the ADA to correct its flaws that have made public air travel less reliable, more uncomfortable, less safe, and in many ways more difficult than prior to deregulation.  FlyersRights, as the largest and oldest airline passenger nonprofit organization, looks forward to working with members of Congress in the months ahead to make this happen.