According to a recent survey conducted by AirHelp, a passenger rights company, almost half of US air passengers feel mistreated by airlines – and with the new FAA reauthorization bill, consumers are still left hoping for better treatment and service in the future.
As the U.S. continues to fall behind the rest of the world for passenger rights, Christian Nielsen, Chief Legal Officer at AirHelp, is eager to weigh in on the conversation, and believes these changes are still not strong enough. Below is a statement from Christian outlining his perspective:
“The new regulations mandated within the FAA reauthorization bill is a step in the right direction for U.S. air passengers, but it’s not enough. Although the proposed bill would protect travelers from being kicked off of a flight after they’ve cleared the boarding gate, and would require airlines to refund passengers for services they paid for but did not receive, the power would still remain in the hands of airlines rather than travelers. Airlines are seeing increasing profits by charging for ticket changes and baggage fees, which many airlines just increased by 20%. The U.S. government needs to better protect travelers’ rights by controlling these fees. The U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world for passenger rights, and now is the time for Congress to take a stand to enact government-mandated price controls to prohibit airlines from unreasonable fees and mistreatment of customers.“
