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Federal court decision highlights the need for airlines to self-regulate
By Lauren | April 6, 2008
Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit threw out a state law requiring the airlines to provide passengers on delayed flights with food, water, clean toilets and fresh air. The New York law, which was designed to protect travelers from being trapped on the tarmac for hours on end without even the most basic comforts, was clearly a good one from a consumer protection standpoint, so the court’s decision left a non-lawyer friend of mine puzzled. Why would a court do something so clearly contrary to the public interest?
The answer lies in the U.S. Constitution, which allows the federal government to claim exclusive authority to oversee commercial activities that take place from state to state. Congress has taken responsibility for regulating the airlines, the court observed, thereby preempting the states’ rights to do so. Consequently, although the New York law was laudable, by passing it Albany stepped hard on Congress’ law-making toes.
The court’s reasoning might be more compelling if Congress had, in fact, shown any interest whatsoever in protecting air travelers from shoddy treatment. If Congress had passed a similar bill after several recent instances where airlines kept unhappy customers stranded on the tarmac for extended periods without food, water, or even fresh air, there would have been no need for New York to take matters into its own hands. Thanks to the court’s decision, state governments are precluded from imposing customer care standards on the airlines and, at least for the moment, Congress has shown no interest in doing so. The traveling public gets left unprotected, and the airlines are laughing all the way to your next delayed flight.
At some point, a member of Congress may suffer through a ten-hour stint on hot, smelly plane – if that happens, I’ll bet federal interest in protecting air passengers will hit a new high. Until that happens, however, consumers can expect more of the same delays, denials and outright lies that are business as usual for so many airlines. The airline trade group that sued to have the New York law overturned won a victory in court, but lost a lot of credibility with the public, because they demonstrated that the airlines will go to tremendous lengths to avoid taking acceptable care of their customers even while gobbling up increasing amounts of their money.
A great many people have to fly to do their jobs, so despite skyrocketing ticket prices and rapid deterioration in the quality of service they receive, those poor folks will undoubtedly continue to do so – for a while. However, unless the airlines voluntarily commit to making sure that their customers are decently treated (as JetBlue Airways chose to do after a particularly embarrassing incident last year), it’s only a matter of time before frequent fliers find another way to get the job done. Here’s a challenge to the airlines: don’t wait for Congress to act. Commit to better service and basic amenities voluntarily, and watch your customer satisfaction levels soar.
Topics: Business Ethics, customer relations |