In order to put a stop to the total loss of passenger rights, current proposed legislation, including clauses to avoid passengers being trapped for hours in grounded planes due to lengthy delays, will without a doubt become law. This "Airline Passenger Bill of Rights" would, among other things, require flights to return to the gate if a delay has caused a grounding of more than three hours. The Airline Passenger Bill of Rights will serve as guidelines for the airlines to follow in certain situations and, more importantly, will outline what airline passengers are entitled to when they fly.

In November 2007, the Federal Register (FR) published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMP) for Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections. The ANPRMP requested comments on seven different subtopics:

• Require contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays and incorporate them in their contracts of carriage
• Require carriers to respond to consumer problems
• Declare operation of flights that remain chronically delayed to be an unfair and deceptive practice and an unfair method of competition
• Require carriers to publish delay data on their websites
• Require carriers to publish complaint data on their websites
• Require carriers to report on-time performance of international flights
• Require carriers to audit their adherence to their customer service 

The public comment period has ended, however the responses, including those from the airlines, can be viewed at www.regulations.gov under Docket No. DOT-OST-2007-0022. The comments are currently under advisement.

In February 2008, the Federal Advisory Committee appointed a National Task Force to Develop Model Contingency Plans to Deal with Lengthy Airline On-Board Ground Delays (73 FR 7785). Representatives from the government, airlines, airports, pilots and other aviation industry organizations, including one passenger right’s organization, are members of the task force.

Airline passengers are represented through the collective voice of the Coalition for an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights. The Coalition uses data and comments it receives through its website to support its contentions to the Task Force. To monitor its progress, please visit www.regulations.gov, docket number DOT-OST-2007-0108.

Almost every major airline is represented on the Task Force. This is not necessarily to preserve or advance passenger rights but to ensure that the airline’s interests are protected. In addition to the model, minimum standard plan developed by the task force, we at Motley Rice anticipate that each major airline will offer up its own version of the passenger bill of rights. Passengers would benefit from each airline creating its own Bill of Rights as it will force competition among the airlines in the customer service area, serving consumers’ interests.

On June 24, 2008, a new bill, H.R. 6355: Air Service Improvement Act of 2008, was introduced in the House of Representatives and several other sponsors. The bill’s intent is to amend Title 49 of the U.S. Code in order to improve the quality of airline services. The bill targets several areas similar to those advanced in the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights:

• Monthly air carrier reports
• Air passenger service improvements
• Review of air carrier flight delays, cancellations and associated causes
• European Union rules for passenger rights
• Establishment of an advisory committee for aviation consumer protection
• Denied boarding compensation
• Expansion of DOT airline consumer complaint investigations

The aviation community is making progress in the preservation and advancement of passenger rights. It is no longer an issue that can be moved to the back burner; this issue is boiling hot and passengers are no longer sitting idle. The airlines are being forced to participate and react as legislation, lawsuits and competition compel them into action.