Luchtvaartmaatschappijen USA gaan enorme boetes krijgen

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Meer dan 3 uur vertraging? En geen mogelijkheid voor passagiers om
toestel (tijdelijk) te verlaten? $27.500 boete per passagier (maar mag
wel per bank betaald worden ;))

Zal dan niet lang duren voor de volgende failliet gaat!

Groet / Cees

PS Gaat dit ook voor niet-USA airlines gelden voor aldaar vertrekkende
passagiers?
PPS Continental geeft al aan de vlucht dan gewoon te annuleren.
PPPS Delta and JetBlue are the top two carriers at New York's JFK
Airport, where a runway closure could add significant delays to an
airport that already struggles with on-time operations.

Continental CEO: We'll cancel flights instead of risking long-delay fines
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=82455.blog
In a story just in off the news wires this morning, The Associated Press
writes that "Continental Airlines plans to cancel flights rather than
risk stiff fines under new federal rules designed to punish carriers for
delaying passengers. CEO Jeff Smisek says that the airline will cancel
flights that might be delayed three hours. Under a federal rule taking
effect next month, airlines can be fined up to $27,500 per passenger if
planes are delayed three hours and passengers can't get off. Smisek says
long delays are rare, and mostly caused by an outdated air traffic
control system that the government has failed to upgrade."

Smisek is quoted by AP as saying many passengers on delayed flights
"really want to go to L.A. or Mumbai, but the government by God says,
'We're going to fine you $27,500.' Here's what we're going to do: We're
going to cancel the flight."

JetBlue, Delta ask for exemptions from new rule on ground delays
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=82436.blog
Delta and JetBlue have asked the Department of Transportation for a
temporary exemption from new rule meant to protect passengers from long
ground delays. Under the new rule – which is set to take effect April 29
– airlines must let passengers offer planes within three hours. If they
don't, airlines face fines of up to $27,500 per passenger. "For an
average Boeing 737 with a full load of passengers, the fine could be
around $3.5 million" per plane, The Associated Press writes.

Why are Delta and JetBlue asking for the temporary exemption? They are
the top two carriers at New York's JFK Airport, where a runway closure
could add significant delays to an airport that already struggles with
on-time operations.

"Although JetBlue has already taken several steps to minimize the impact
of this closure on its JFK operations, this exemption is necessary to
ensure that JetBlue is not penalized if JFK becomes gridlocked at peak
operating times," AP quotes the airline as saying in its request to DOT.

JetBlue, at least, is worried that the New York delays could spill into
other markets like Los Angeles and Orlando. AP notes that "one-third of
the nation's air traffic goes in, out, or over New York airspace every
day — accounting for three-quarters of all chronic airline delays,
according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey."

Aviation Week adds "JetBlue, however, only requested the waiver for
itself. In its filing, Delta supported JetBlue's application and asked
for the waiver to be extended to Delta 'and other similarly situated
carriers.' "

DOT hits US Airways with $40,000 penalty on fare display
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=82452.blog
The Department of Transportation has fined US Airways $40,000 for not
properly displaying total fare information on its website, The
Associated Press reports.  CNN says "the carrier posted one-way fares on
its Web site for a short time without indicating that additional fees
and taxes would apply, violating a rule that requires clear disclosure
of the existence of those charges on the first screen where fares are
quoted, according to the Department of Transportation."

The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that "US Airways said in a consent order
released by the Transportation Department that its failure to include
the additional taxes and fees 'was wholly unintentional and the result
of an inadvertent programming error.' "

The move also seems to highlight a more aggressive approach by the DOT
in enforcing existing consumer-protection measures. The agency has
enforced similar fines on a number of airlines in the past year,
including Continental, Hawaiian, Spirit and United.

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