New Department of Transportation Rules Changes Help Airline Passengers

As a regular air traveler, Dulles area injury lawyer Doug Landau has had his share of lost luggage, oversold flights and complex airfares, taxes and airline “add on fees.” But good news for “frequent fliers” is on the way ! New rules from the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) went into effect last week that requires commercial air carriers to be more explicit about airfare fees and taxes as well as about advertising the full cost of things like meals, baggage and special seats. According to the Wall Street Journal‘s Emily Glazer, “Consumers can finally see the true cost of a flight.” As a frequent air traveler, airport injury lawyer Landau cows how hard it can be to ascertain the ultimate cost of a flight. “An airline ticket is not inexpensive for average, ordinary citizens,” says Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “They should know all the fees they’re being charged.” Among the new provisions:

• Carriers are “generally” prohibited from making post-purchase price increases.
• Passengers can hold a reservation without payment, or cancel it without penalty, for 24 hours after the reservation is made (when purchasing at least a week before a flight’s departure date).
• There must be prompt notification of delays of more than 30 minutes, cancellations and diversions.

These are the final provisions of the airline consumer regulations issued by the Transportation Department in April 2011. Last August, the Transportation Department also mandated that airlines must refund baggage fees if bags are lost, provide increased compensation to passengers bumped from oversold flights and strengthen tarmac delay limits on all flights. For more information on the rules, visit the Transportation Department’s website. For complaints, go to the Department of Transportation’s Aviation and Consumer Protection Division’s site.