AIRLINES AGREE TO SHORTEN CUSTOMER SERVICE CONTRACTS IN HOUSE HEARING
May 30, 2017
A U.S. House of Representatives hearing on May 2, 2017 resulted in an agreement whereby several of the nation’s top airlines will shorten customer service contracts for the benefit of consumers. Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chided executives from United, Alaska, American and Southwest Airlines about their respective lengthy conditions of carriage. This was the first Congressional hearing after the now-famous April 9, 2017 denied boarding incident on a United Airlines flight.
The hearing focused specifically on airline overbooking and bumping policies that led to the April 9, 2017 event. Legislators stated that passengers rarely know the terms of passenger agreements at the time of ticket purchase and that the average consumer needs a simpler, more understandable contract so that they can meet the airlines on an equal contractual footing. As an example, United’s Contract of Carriage is 46 pages long and Alaska’s is 67 pages. As of May 24, 2017, United’s Contract of Carriage has not yet been revised.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).
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