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American Morning

New Airline Regulations Debated on Capitol Hill

Aired May 10, 2001 - 09:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go ahead and start with hassles, not the hassles of working with me, but the hassles of traveling, of getting from here to there, from distracted drivers to frustrated flyers.

First, air travel delays -- lawmakers on Capitol Hill will be examining the problem and possible solutions during a hearing this morning.

Our national correspondent Bob Franken joining us from Reagan National Airport, where, Bob, I'm sure you've perhaps suffered some travel frustrations yourself. Good morning to you.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

The home away from home for far too many air travelers -- everybody acknowledges that. The problem is, instead of here to there, all too often travelers believe they can only get from here to here.

As a matter of fact, here's some statistics which will make the frustrated traveler realize he or she is definitely not alone -- these statistics from the Department of Transportation's inspector general.

Last year, one in four flights was delayed, canceled or diverted -- one in four; 163 million passengers were affected. Not only that, but in the last five years, delays are up 90 percent, cancellations up 104 percent -- statistics that will surprise no one who travels.

Now, Congress is about to hold two committee hearings, one on the House side. It's legislation that's expected to easily pass, which would allow airlines to, in fact, communicate about their schedules to try and make them more efficient. That would, in fact, mean that they would not have to worry about antitrust violations under certain circumstances.

On the Senate side: a hearing to discuss the reason for all these delays -- among the people who will testify: the administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency -- this is all part of legislation that's been introduced by John McCain, which would require airlines to at least inform the passenger when there is a delay.

So many people complain that the passenger has to try and extricate the information from airline employees. This would make it mandatory that: A: the passenger would have to be informed; B: there would be accommodations made for the passenger; C: when the passenger is booking the airline reservation on the telephone or online, the airline would have to notify that passenger about the performance, the on-time performance record of the airlines.

Now, any number of objections have been raised by the airline industry. The main one is, that in fact, this might be a step toward reregulating the airlines. But there are those critics who believe that might not be a bad idea.

As for the reasons for the delays, what you have is everybody in the industry pointing at someone else. The airlines say that it's a problem with the weather. They say that it's a problem with the Federal Aviation Agency and the air traffic control situation.

Others say that, in fact, it's a problem of the hub system, that the airlines in fact impose on the passengers. In any case, it is a frustration that has been building. The worst part is that everybody agrees that unless something remarkable happens, it's only going to get worse -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Bob, the only thing we know is that -- as travelers, we know it is a problem and just want people to do something about it -- Bob Franken at Reagan National, thank you.

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