JetBlue Woes May Boost Passenger Bill of Rights

Feb. 15, 2007— -- The winter blast that snarled air traffic Wednesday, stranding travelers on JetBlue flights on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport for as long as 11 hours, was an unqualified nightmare for the travelers. But for supporters of a proposed airline passenger bill of rights, it couldn't have come at a better time.

Kate Hanni, a California real estate broker whose own 10-hour tarmac delay last December prompted her to pursue regulatory changes in Congress, will be in Washington next week to push a bill that Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., will introduce formally in the next few weeks.

The legislation would establish procedures for airlines to return passengers to the gate within three hours if a plane does not take off.

Airlines would be required to offer travelers food, water and clean bathrooms for any delays over three hours, and refund 150 percent of a flight's ticket price for those delayed more than 12 hours.

"The major thing is people feeling like they're trapped against their will and not being told the truth," said Hanni, who said the blame for incidents like Wednesday's rests squarely with the airlines.

JetBlue promptly responded to the JFK delays, refunding the cost of tickets and offering free air travel anywhere in the world because of the inconvenience.

Hanni called the move a "smartly calculated" response.

"It's to fend off any potential bad press in the future, but it did not mitigate the experience of those people on that flight," she said.

Previous efforts to enact a passenger bill of rights have failed to get off the ground. But the movement may be be picking up steam.

Anne Warden, a spokeswoman for Thompson, said that the congressman has already been approached by many House colleagues who said they would support a passenger bill of rights.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has said she'd sponsor a similar bill in the Senate, according to Warden.

The bill is not meant to put unnecessary stress on the airlines, many of which already face difficult financial situations, Warden said. "The congressman is making sure a bill is passed that provides passengers a reasonable level of comfort without forcing the airlines to go out of business."

Such a bill may also have the backing of FAA administrator Marion Blakely, who yesterday told Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., that he may introduce similar legislation of his own.

In a Jan. 26 press conference, Blakely acknowledged that 2006 was a record-setting year for flight delays.

He also said Congress would take action on airline delays. But instead of proposing a passenger bill of rights, Blakely said, the FAA must move toward a system called the "next gen" to deal with heavier air traffic.

"It's all about satellite-based navigation, and it can handle a lot more flights," Blakely said.

"To do that, the Congress is going to have to authorize a different system of financing for the system, and we're hoping that they're going to do that," he said.