Biden Proposal Would Make Airlines Pay Travelers For Mechanical Delays

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Yahoo! News/Huff Post

Thu, December 5, 2024 at 10:19 AM EST


The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday it is pursuing a new rule that would force airlines to compensate passengers for long delays that are the airlines’ fault, including those caused by mechanical issues.

The compensation could be at least $200 and up to $775 depending on how long the delay is. The rule could also require airlines to rebook customers for free on the next available flight and cover the cost of their meals and lodging while they’re stranded.

The proposal is part of a string of reforms from President Joe Biden’s administration aimed at making airlines more accountable for consumer headaches. But because the rule is only being developed at the tail end of the Biden administration, it would be left to President-elect Donald Trump to follow through on implementing it.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called the proposal “another step forward into a better era for commercial air travel.”

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-proposal-airlines-pay-travelers-151953150.html

---

Link to DOT PRESS RELEASE - DOT Launches Rulemaking to Protect Passengers Stranded by Airline Disruptions

[Irish_Dem]

1. Some of the mechanical delays are not about mechanical problems.

Sometimes the flight is not full enough to make the profit the airlines want.
So they pretend to have mechanical problems and customers won't argue with that.

[SomewhereInTheMiddle]

2. Not saying it would happen, but ...

... I could easily imagine a maintenance crew chief telling his crew that a mechanical problem is not serious enough to warrant the ($200 x 300 passengers) $60,000 a twenty-minute delay to double check a fuel line or replace a landing gear lug nut would cost the airline. Or worse an airline exec making that same decision with no clue what mechanical problems might actually be important.

Might this lead to airlines overlooking problems to avoid payouts for delays? Might that cause potentially unsafe conditions to be ignored?

I imagine the idea is to incentivize airlines to plan and schedule enough time to do maintenance before the passengers are involved. But that also costs money.

If this goes through it will be interesting to see the results.

[mahina]

3. Agreed. It's the pilotʻs decision. That decision takes courage sometimes already.

Last edited Fri Dec 6, 2024, 04:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Nobody likes delays but this shouts watch out for unintended consequences that could endanger passengers and crew to avoid even more financial loss.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Was about to post with similar concerns. Penalties for taking the time to repair means unsafe planes in service. nt