Ever since the Transportation Department told U.S. airlines they’d have to advertise the total cost of a ticket when touting their fares, the industry has been fighting back. Back in July a U.S. Appeals Court sided with consumers and ruled that airlines must stick to the new rules, and now the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the industry’s challenge once again, in refusing to hear the case. [More]
Supreme Court Denies Airline Industry Challenge To Price Advertising Rules
By April 1, 2013
Airlines Mishandled Fewer Bags Last Year Maybe Because We Hate Paying To Check Them
By February 12, 2013
The good news is that the Department of Transportation says airlines are mishandling fewer bags than before, with a nice little 8% drop in the amount of “lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered” pieces of luggage from 2011 to 2012. But before we go slapping airlines on the back with a hearty “good job!” pat, perhaps it’s just because passengers are keeping their personal effects out of the hands of baggage handlers. [More]
Transportation Secretary: Dreamliners Won’t Fly Again Until They’re Deemed “1,000% Safe”
By January 18, 2013
Just one week after he said he would be comfortable taking a spin in a Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has changed his tune. After numerous reports of problems with the jets’s batteries, LaHood now says none of them will take to the skies again until officials are “1,000% sure” they’re safe to fly. [More]
Toyota Will Pay A Record Fine Of $17.35M Over Delay In Reporting Safety Defects
By December 18, 2012
Toyota says it will be paying out a record $17.35 million — the maximum fine allowably by law — after the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the company had delayed reporting a safety defect to the government. It’s the highest single civil penalty that’s ever been paid to the NHTS Afor violations that are a result of a recall. [More]
JetBlue Fined For Not Telling Passengers They Can Exit A Plane Stuck Indefinitely At The Gate
By August 21, 2012
Know your rights, airplane passengers! If you’re stuck at the gate waiting to take off, you do not have to just sit there and take it, according to the Department of Transportation’s rules. JetBlue is on the line for $90,000 after failing to inform passengers that they were allowed to get off a plane stuck at the gate for hours at John F. Kennedy Airport in March. [More]
TripAdvisor Smacked With $80K Fine For Violating Fare Advertising Rule
By July 13, 2012
TripAdvisor has fallen afoul of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s rule about fare advertising, resulting in a fine of $80,000. The rule went into effect in January, and stated that ticket agents and airlines must display fares as the total of what a consumer will pay, taxes and fees included. [More]
One In Three Teens Admits To Texting Or E-Mailing While Driving
By June 7, 2012
As the evidence piles up showing that teens are still distracted behind the wheel to an unsafe degree, Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has introduced a new initiative aimed at ending the dangerous habits of texting or emailing while driving. [More]
DOT Investigates Airlines For Not Disclosing Fees On Their Websites
By October 19, 2011
Starting August 23rd, airlines were supposed to start being more upfront on their websites about the fees they charge you. Guess what? They didn’t. [More]
No Electronic Cigarettes Allowed On Flights, Rules The DOT
By February 14, 2011
Looks like cigarette smokers will have to keep furiously chewing nicotine gum on U.S. flights, as the Department of Transportation has said “nope, not gonna do it,” to allowing smokeless electronic cigarettes on airplanes. [More]
Government May Use Tech To Stop Cell Phone Use In Cars
By December 1, 2010
People are so insistent on driving while using their cell phones that only death in a car accident will stop them from doing so. Spurred by the prevalence of fatal accidents caused by distracted drivers — 5,500 last year — the government is mulling over the concept of using technology to force drivers to put down their phones. [More]
Flight Cancellations Hold Steady Despite New Tarmac Delay Limit
By August 8, 2010
Remember how airlines threatened to cancel a mess of flights if the Department of Transportation imposed fines for holding planes on the tarmac for more than three hours? Well, the DOT imposed the rule and it looks like airlines are coping just fine. The Wall Street Journal examined recently released data and found that the most probable explanation for the slight jump in cancellations is a combination of weather and shoddy maintenance. [More]
DOT Lacks Power To Ban Peanuts From Flights
By July 7, 2010
Just when it looked like all the crusaders who want to get peanuts banned from flights were inching closer to epic victory, along comes a federal law to crack their shells. [More]
New Rules About Getting Paid When Airlines Bump You
By June 11, 2010
Airlines routinely overbook passengers, resulting in passengers getting bumped and having their travel plans disrupted. Currently, you can get the full ticket price if you are bumped, or 2x the ticket if you’re not provided alternative transportation within a certain time frame to the next stop, up to a certain cap level. Newly proposed regulations would increase the amount passengers could get, but it’s not as simple as that. Airline expert Elliott has delved into the report to find out what’s being proposed: [More]
Senator Joins DOT Secretary In Blasting Spirit's New Carry-On Bag Fees
By April 12, 2010
Spirit Airline’s ballsy new $20-45 fee for carry-on bags has already caught the attention of the Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and now New York Senator Charles Schumer is rattling his sword. [More]
U.S. Airways Fined $40K For Not Properly Revealing Prices Online
By March 9, 2010
For anyone who has ever been put off by an airline’s overly complicated explanation of their already cryptic fare schedule, there might be a slight, sweet taste of vengeance in this news: The Dept. of Transportation just slapped US Airways with a $40,000 fine for not disclosing their full ticket prices on their Web site. [More]
Tarmac Imprisonment Limited To 3 Hours
By December 21, 2009
Airlines must let passengers stuck in airplanes stranded on the tarmac get off after 3 hours, the Transportation Department today ordered. They’re also now only allowed to starve you for 2 hours, after which they must serve pizza or a reasonable facsimile. Toilets must be functional during the entire time as well. [More]
Continental, ExpressJet Fined $100,000 For Tarmac Delay Incident
By November 30, 2009
Back in August, Continental and its partner, ExpressJet kept 47 passengers, including some babies, on a plane for 11 hours with only some pretzels to eat. A few days later, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that he was looking in to the issue. Last week, the DOT announced that the Aviation Enforcement Office (AEO) had fined Continental Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines $100,000 for their involvement in the incident. [More]
DOT To Airlines: Sorry, But People Like To Change Their Underwear
By October 14, 2009
The United States Department of Transportation has finally warned airlines: Most people don’t like to go for more than 24 hours without brushing their teeth and changing their underwear.
