FLYING FUNDAMENTALS

Complaints pertaining to airline services should first be directed to airline officials. Airline service issues include, but are not necessarily limited to, lost luggage, carry-on baggage, ticketing problems, child safety seats, and on-time performance. If the airline fails to satisfy the complaint, the next step is to register a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or other applicable agency. Complaints registered with the FAA are included in the agency's consumer reporting system, which serves as the basis for further investigations. The nature of the complaint determines with which agency it should be registered:

Complaints about airline safety issues should be referred to the FAA Consumer Hotline at 1.866.TELL.FAA (1.866.835.5322), 24 hours a day, or by mail to:
Federal Aviation Administration
Consumer Hotline, AOA-20
800 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, D.C. 20591
Complaints about aviation security issues should be referred to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) through its Contact Center at 1.866.289.9673.
Complaints about airline service other than safety or security issues may be registered with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division (ACPD) of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) . The ACPD may be reached 24 hours a day at 1.202.366.2220 (TTY: 1.202.366.0511), and they usually return calls Monday through Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET. In addition, the ACPD also operates a toll-free hotline to assist travelers with disabilities at 1.800.778.4838 (TTY: 1.800.455.9880). Complaints may also be registered online or sent by mail to:
Department of Transportation
Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
The ACPD also provides consumer advice concerning airlines that have stopped operating , as well as information on rules and industry guidance on a number of issues.
Complaints related to accessibility problems due to a disability, or alleged discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion or ancestry, should be filed with the agency best suited to handle them. The ACPD provides guidance and contact information for this purpose.

New regulations that improve passenger protections when flying domestically (.PDF document) went into effect on April 29, 2010. These regulations state that airlines:

must acknowledge passenger complaints within 30 days and must respond within 60 days.
will be penalized for certain departure delays.
are required to provide passengers with adequate food, water and sanitary conditions if a flight is delayed for more than two hours.
must allow passengers to disembark if a flight is delayed on the ground for more than three hours.
must publish a customer service plan outlining policies on overbooking, baggage handling, complaints and other customer service issues on their websites, as well as report flight delay information for each domestic flight they operate.

Passengers on flights to or from Canada have certain rights under the Canadian Passenger Bill of Rights . The European Union (EU) also passed legislation on passenger rights .

Consumer information on a wide variety of subjects may be found in the Consumer Action website , which provides useful addresses, telephone numbers, and a sample letter to help consumers with various types of complaints.

Proposed New Rules
On June 2, 2010, the DOT proposed new consumer protections for air travelers that would:

increase compensation for passengers involuntarily bumped from flights,
allow passengers to make and cancel reservations within 24 hours without penalty,
require full and prominently displayed disclosure of baggage fees as well as refunds and expense reimbursement when bags are not delivered on time,
require fair price advertising,
prohibit price increases after a ticket is purchased, and
mandate timely notice of flight status changes.

More information on the proposal for additional consumer protections for air travelers is available from the DOT. Public comments on the proposed regulations are being accepted until August 9, 2010.

Additional Resources:

Please note: To view and print .PDF documents, you must use the Adobe Reader software , which is available for download without charge.