Customer Service
Passenger Complaints and Airline Improvement Efforts
Airline customer service took center stage in January 1999, when hundreds of passengers were stuck in planes on snowbound Detroit runways for up to eight and one-half hours. Following that incident, the House and Senate conducted hearings on the air carriers’ treatment of air travelers and considered whether to enact a "passenger bill of rights." Airline Customer Service Commitment Following the hearings, Congress, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Air Transport Association (ATA) — the trade association for America’s leading carriers — agreed that the air carriers should have an opportunity to improve their customer service without legislation. To…
