Reid bill targets poor airline service

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, July 19, 2000 | 11:16 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A new bill in Congress is aimed at helping frustrated airline passengers fed up with delays, poor service and high ticket prices.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., was scheduled today to unveil the Airline Passenger Fair Treatment Act, in a ceremony with Paul Ruden, senior vice president of the American Society of Travel Agents and Mark Silbergeld, co-director of the Consumers Union.

"Anyone who flies much at all knows that airports are crowded, flights too often delayed or canceled without explanation, ticket prices are unpredictable and hard to figure out, passengers are more unruly and occasionally violent," Reid said in a statement prepared for today's press conference.

Reid's bill is a collection of rules aimed at making flying easier and more convenient at a time when passenger complaints -- and incidents of unruly passenger "air rage" -- are on the rise.

Reid said airlines in recent years have "cut corners" that make flying worse for passengers.

Reid's bill would:

Yet another provision would prevent airlines from canceling a passenger's return flight if the passenger got off at a layover stop and did not take his or her connection. Some passengers do that because it's cheaper to book a long flight -- to New York with a layover in Chicago, for example -- than it is to simply book the flight to Chicago.

Reid and other lawmakers have called for airline improvements before, which led to airlines enacting self-imposed new customer service rules. But airlines have not followed through, Reid said, pointing to a Department of Transportation study released a few weeks ago. Airlines still are doling out inaccurate and incomplete information about delays and cancellations, for example, the report found.

Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier at McCarran International Airport, already has the fewest complaints in the industry, company spokeswoman Linda Rutherford said.

"We know we operate in a free enterprise system," Rutherford said. "Customers will go with the airline that provides the best service and the best fares. We have not needed to be prodded, mandated, regulated into making improvements for our customers."

Reid, who last year introduced a Congress-passed bill that increased penalties for air rage, has been involved in two cases involving unruly passengers.

In May, Reid broke up a marital spat between a couple sitting nearby. Reid sat between the intoxicated man and woman for the remainder of the flight after their bickering turned to physical confrontation.