Published November 1987 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd The Air Passenger Protection Act of 1987 During recent decades, airplane travel has become the transportation mode-of-choice among a majority of Americans making long-distance trips. Some years ago, some airline advocates touted deregulation of air travel as the means of providing better, less expensive air travel for the largest number of Americans. Congress bowed to the clamor for deregulation. Unfortunately, the promised benefits of deregulation have been enjoyed by only a select segment of the air-traveling public, while deteriorating service and inconvenience have mounted steadily for increasing numbers of air passengers. Since the deregulation of the airline industry, problems with delayed flights, cancelled flights, lost luggage, overbooking, poor aircraft maintenance, and customer service complaints, have multiplied many-fold. Further, as the quality of service has declined nationwide, the cost of air travel in many states, such as West Virginia, has continued to soar. From across our state, I have received a continuing flow of first-hand airline horror tales: two-and three-hour delays; flight cancellations with no alternative flights provided; passengers left sitting in a plane, its air-conditioning broken, on the tarmac for two hours with outside temperatures near 90 degrees, while repairs were attempted; and unscheduled late arrivals that have inconvenienced and thwarted thousands trying to pursue business concerns and personal agendas. Clearly, this situation has called for new measures to protect the flying public. Unbridled deregulation has allowed some airlines to turn air travel into a cattle-car experience. For that reason, I joined recently in supporting Senate passage by a vote of 89-5 of the "Air Passenger Protection Act of 1987.'' This Senate bill will require airlines to disclose their on-time performance records, and to make public the number of flights they have cancelled, bags lost, and passengers bumped from overbooked flights. In addition, a 24-hour toll-free hotline will be available to the public, to take consumer complaints, and to provide information on airline performance records. The U.S. House of Representatives has recently passed similar legislation. Both pieces of legislation will be sent to a joint Senate-House conference committee to forge a bill agreeable to both chambers of Congress. I shall continue working to obtain final passage of this legislation. West Virginians pay high prices for air service, and they deserve better than the cattle-car treatment to which too many air travelers too often are subjected under the banner of deregulation. November 11, 1987