Roughly two weeks after U.S. Transportation Secretary Peter Buttigieg wrote to the CEOs of the nation’s 10 largest airlines about flight disruptions, the carriers and federals Department of Transportation partnered to launch an online dashboard to tell flyers what their rights are when flights are canceled or significantly delayed.
The dashboard, to be launched on Sept. 2, comes after a rough summer punctuated by flight delays and cancellations as airlines and even the Federal Aviation Administration struggled with staffing shortages.
The online USDOT dashboard lists how each airline will provide lodging, refunds, meals, rebooking and ground transportation services when flights are delayed or canceled. It will be launched by the White House and USDOT on Friday, senior officials said on background Wednesday.
The new website will list for travelers what the airlines will do for travelers when flights are delayed or canceled due to a reason airlines control, officials said. Airline caused delays include mechanical issues, staffing and aircraft availability. Weather is not considered an airline caused delay, officials said.
The site covers the nation’s 10 major airlines, comprising 96% of domestic flights and some international service, officials said.
Flight problems were the highest category of the complaints received by the department in June 2022, according to USDOT. Of the 5,862 complaints received, 1,686 or 28.8% were about cancellations, delays, or other deviations from airlines’ schedules. Passenger complaints to USDOT were up by 270% from pre-pandemic levels, the department reported on August 26.
The website dashboard will provide a checklist, by airline, of what will be provided to affected flyers. A green check on the dashboard indicates the service is provided, a red X means it is not.
In mid-August, Buttigieg sent a letter to U.S. airlines CEOs, challenging them to improve their customer service plans. He also announced plans to create the interactive dashboard before Labor Day.
The agreement to put the information on a website dashboard was called “night and day” between what airlines committed to before Buttigieg sent the letter and what airlines voluntarily agreed to do, a senior official said.
“All airlines are not guaranteeing service, but we are pleased with the progress made in a short time,” an official said.
The agreement got the dashboard and commitments done in a significantly shorter time period than if the USDOT went through a rule making process, the official said.
Officials called it a “real big win” for airline consumers and commended airlines for making “a lot of changes in two weeks.”
The USDOT may still consider pursuing new rules, officials said.
It also comes on the heels of the DOT publishing a bill of rights for airline passengers with disabilities and called for seating children age 13 or younger with a parent without an additional charge for doing so.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Larry Higgs may be reached at [email protected].
©2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
