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Consumer Action 

Consumer Federation of America 

National Consumers League 

Public Citizen 

U.S. PIRG 

'1-PARTMENTOF 

•Af^SPORWION 

'•<HT OPERATIONS 

7 October 2010 

Document Management Facility 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20590-0001 

VIA FAX (202) 493-2251 

Re: Notice of Proposed Rule Making: 

Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections 

Reference: 14 CFR Parts 234, 250, 253, 259, and 399 

Docket No. DOT-OST-2010-0140 

RESf No. 2105-AD92 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

We, the undersigned national consumer organizations, together representing hundreds of 

millions of consumers in the United States, wish to have our views considered as late comments 

on the Department of Transportation's second proposed regulation on "Enhancing Airline 

Passenger Protections" (June 8, 2010). If you would like an electronic copy please contact Ed 

Mierzwinski (edm@pirg.org). 

We congratulate Secretary LaHood on the success of the first comprehensive airline passenger 

regulation his department promulgated last December. That regulation, including a 3-hour limit 

on the time that passengers on domestic flights can be stranded on airport tarmacs without an 

option to deplane, appears to be very successful. Data from the first three months of operations 

under that regulation indicate that long tarmac delays on domestic flights have almost been 

eliminated and airline cancellations of flights have not notably increased. Airline passengers are 

also benefitting from many other elements in that consumer protection regulation, including the 

receipt of timely and accurate information when flights are delayed. 

Our organizations support each of the proposals in this follow-on Notice of Proposed Rule 

Making (NPRM), and believe they appropriately expand and supplement the previous regulation. 

They expand the coverage of U.S. domestic passenger protections to those traveling on U.S. 

international flights of foreign carriers; establish minimum standards for the promises airlines 
PlPR-04-1998 05:11 P. 03/03 

have made in their "Customer Service Plans," and increase financial payments to passengers who 

have been involuntarily bumped from oversold flights. 

We are particularly pleased that DOT is proposing to require that passengers receive 

comprehensive and understandable information about the many fees that the airlines have been 

adding to their fares for baggage, food and beverage, better seats, etc., so that travelers can 

readily compare the total costs of flying on competing airlines. This issue is highly frustrating to 

consumers from reports we've received, and we accordingly urge the department to promulgate 

its final regulation as soon as possible. 

We have reviewed and support the extensive conmienls that are being submitted on each of the 

sections in the pending NPRM by FlyersRights.org on behalf of airline passengers. We are also 

concerned about the issue raised by the Aviation Consumer Action Project (ACAP) that airline 

passengers don't have effective access to the courts to enforce provisions in airline Contracts of 

Carriage. We support the recommendation that DOT should look into this situation and, if 

needed, should recommend an alternative approach to the Congress for compensating passengers 

for airline violations of their promises. DOT should further ensure that its rules do not preempt 

consumer claims under state laws. 

Thank you for considering our views on this important consumer regulation. Please contact Ed 

Mierzwinski at U.S. PIRG with questions (edm@pirg.org or 202-546-9707 x 314). 

Sincerely, 

Linda Sherry 

Executive Director 

Consumer Action 

Travis Plunkett 

Legislative Director 

Consumer Federation of America 

Sally Greenberg 

Executive Director 

National Consumers League 

David Arkush 

Director 

Public Citizen's Congress Watch 

Edmund Mierzwinski 

Consumer Program Director 

U.S. PIRG 

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