Q&A: Flyer's consumer group

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Q&A: Flyer's consumer group

Posted by: under Airlines, Consumer travel Updated: November 2, 2009 - 4:03 PM

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Q. Is there an organization I can get involved with to help reform the existing chronic airline schedule problems? Perhaps an organization something like Mothers Against Delayed Departures? In my travels I see endemic undo pressures on both passenger and airline employees due to a fundamental breakdown in adhering to stated schedules. I would like to find – and lend my support to -- a consumer group that would give a clear voice to this issue.

A. The closest you may come is Flyersrights.org, a non-profit organization that represents airline passengers and is working on getting a passenger bill of rights passed through Congress. The group offers a hotline for stranded passengers (1-877-359-3776) and an anonymous tipline for airline employees (1-877-887-2678). Another is the Association for Airline Passenger Rights. Its mission, according to its Web site, is “to promote fairer customer service and accessibility standards in the airline industry and to improve passenger satisfaction.”

Your question conveys more than a little annoyance and I have little doubt it is based on truly bad experiences. I'd like to point out that, probably because overall air traffic is down, on-time arrival rates are on the rise. In August, the last month for which U.S. Department of Transportation data is available, 80 percent of flights arrived on time. But then, 20 percent is nothing to dismiss lightly because that makes up a lot of unhappy fliers.

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