Airlines Win, Passengers Lose on Rights

Passengers wait for their flights in a crowded terminal at Frankfurt-Main Airport, Germany. The European Union has had airline passenger rights laws for three years, but the decision by a federal court to overturn the United States' first such law, passed by the State of New York, is a big setback for those trying to secure similar rights for passengers flying in the U.S. Credit: AP Photo/Bernd Kammerer

The move by a federal court to strike down the nation’s first air passengers’ bill of rights is bad news for consumers.

Now that New York State’s law has apparently gone down in flames, American travelers will have to wait indefinitely in hopes of eventually securing basic rights in the sky comparable to what fliers in the European Union have had for the past three years.

Of course, the battle is not over. Aviation-watchers are already speculating that the issue could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. But when (and if) that will happen is anyone’s guess.

The New York law is actually relatively modest. It seeks to assure passengers that airlines would have to provide their customers with food, water, fresh air, power and working restrooms on any flight that has left the gate and been on the tarmac for more than three hours.

However, a federal appeals court ruled on March 25 that New York’s law infringed on the federal government’s turf — that Washington, D.C., not Albany, Sacramento, Austin or any other state capital — is the place to pass such legislation.

Passengers’ rights bills have been introduced in Congress, but are stalled there.

America’s airline industry could not be more pleased, as evidenced by a statement from the Air Transport Association, the airlines’ lobbying arm in Washington. The ATA maintains that a "patchwork of laws by states and localities would be impractical and harmful to consumer interests. This clear and decisive ruling sends a strong message to other states that are considering similar legislation."

For now, Americans will have to rely on the air travel market to provide solutions to flight cancellations and delays, lost luggage, failure to serve adequate food and water aboard planes that are stuck on the runway and other issues that are riling travelers.

Of course, there’s fine irony here: it is the market’s failure to redress these problems that drove attempts to write passengers’ rights into law in the first place.

This stagnation stands in stark contrast to the 27-nation EU, which initiated an air passengers’ bill of rights in 2005.

In the EU, if you are denied boarding, you are entitled to compensation ranging from 125 to 600 euros. If you are delayed for five hours and you decide not to travel, you can request a refund. (However, there is no requirement a refund will be granted.) If your flight is cancelled, you must be financially compensated unless you were informed at least 14 days ahead of time. If your luggage was delayed, damaged or lost, your airline can be fined hundreds of euros.

After the Valentine’s Day meltdown in New York last year, JetBlue Airways — which left hundreds stranded without amenities during an ice storm — put its own passengers’ bill of rights into effect. It’s more restrictive than the EU law, to be sure, but — for now at least — it’s a rare patch of blue sky for American fliers.

• What You Should Know about Being Bumped
• Top 10 Things You Need to Know when Kids Fly Solo
• What Rule 240 Means when Your Flight is Canceled