FlyersRights: The DOT Doesn't Supervise Much!
These are excerpts pulled from a recent conversation that FlyersRights President Paul Hudson had with The Wall Street Journal on October 6, 2021.
A federal statute says the Transportation Department is supposed to police “unfair or deceptive” practices by airlines. Consumer groups have been pressing DOT for more action on contracts of carriage.
“They don’t really supervise much on these contracts,” says Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights.org. “Anything goes. You get this constant revision to try and make them more and more in favor of airlines.”
He points to force majeure provisions that typically absolve airlines of responsibility for canceling flights after terrorist attacks or major storms. The contracts don’t relieve passengers of responsibility, so in some cases passengers don’t get a refund, but a voucher or credit and the airline keeps the cash. During the pandemic, airlines hung on to tens of billions of dollars from customers who couldn’t travel because of border closings or health concerns, even when flights were canceled.
“It should be evenhanded. If the contract in those situations is void, and you didn’t get the service you paid for, you should get your money back,” Mr. Hudson says.
