COALITION FOR AN AIRLINE PASSENGERS’ BILL OF RIGHTS
FlyersRights.com
(877) FLYERS6
Kate Hanni, President

CPRHS Update: More Wins, Less Losses, and Lots of Work Still to Do!

 Contents:   

 
Recent Updates & Info

·         One of our members tells ABC News about another stranding

·         Kate has been working with Canada -- they are passing laws!

·         We may need to ask for more from our Government!

 
Big Win with DOT on Bumping Fee Increases May 18th!
We did this, guys. By our contacting the Department of Transportation and submitting letters, faxes and calls, we helped the DOT act on this important regulation. We are happy they made the right choice.

 
Big Win with DOT on getting Diverted and Canceled Flights Counted!
Better reporting airline issues will mean a better understanding of what's really going on, and WE are responsible for this! It started with 121 jets on December 29, 2006 and ended with the DOT realizing that the way the airlines were reporting diverted and canceled flights was deceptive and should be fixed. If not for our group, this change wouldn't even be a speck on the horizon. October 1st is when they will actually begin the statistical gathering of information, so please keep calling our hotline when you are stranded. Otherwise we don't know when they happen!

 
Legislation Before the Senate—We Need Your Help Now!

Since the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights (CAPBOR) was founded just over a year ago, we have helped to win two major victories for airline passengers.  Due to our efforts on your behalf, within the past few months the United States Department of Transportation issued new regulations which  (1) give higher compensation to passengers who are bumped by an airline, and (2) require the airlines to more accurately report information on delayed, diverted and cancelled flights and how statistics on those flights are aggregated and reported. 

However, we have much work to do now because the abuse of passengers by the airlines continues every single day  This month alone: throughout the United States—you just don't hear about it because, frankly, the media gets tired of reporting these incidents.

--        On June 6th, Northwest Airlines flight #48 was delayed on the tarmac in
        Detroit for over eight hours—its passengers held as virtual hostages with
        no effort by the airline to protect passenger comfort, safety and health on
        board.

--        Just three days ago, United Airlines forced two children to sleep overnight
        on the floor of Denver International Airport when they failed to make their
        connecting flight to Fayetteville, Arkansas. The airline refused to provide them
        with a connecting flight back to Fayetteville the following day and required their mother
        to drive over six hours to pick them up at an airport in Oklahoma

--        In early June, a full plane of passengers were stranded on the tarmac
        overnight when a United Airlines flight was diverted to an airport in Illinois.
        The airline refused to let the passengers disembark from the plane during their hellacious ordeal.

--        This month, the number of passengers calling CAPBOR's hotline has
        reached an all-time high due to the HUGE number of passengers who are
        being bumped and stranded every single day.  The airlines are reducing
        the number of flights and overbooking passengers as much as they
        can get away with in order to maximize their profits—at your comfort,
        safety and expense!

 
The next few weeks are a critical time for us.  Our volunteer lobbyists will be working hard to make sure that the passengers' rights provisions in the FAA Reauthorization Act currently being considered by the U.S. Senate remain intact.

 We need your help now more than ever to make sure your rights are protected by the Senate.  Call your Senator and tell them to vote for the FAA Reauthorization Act with all the passengers' rights provisions. 

But please help us financially now as much as you can.  Although our lobbyists and attorneys are working pro bono—and no one at CAPBOR is paid a salary—we are facing unprecedented expenses in working to protect your rights in the Senate.  This may be our only chance to get a passengers' bill of rights through Congress in the foreseeable future.  And we will lose the fight to the airlines if we don't come together now and fight them!

 If we don't stand up now, the airlines will have the last laugh.  We can't let that happen.  We must stop them!

Thank you, in advance, for your help.

  
Two Campaigns -- One Goal

We have two campaigns here: Congress and the DOT. One or the other may enact legislation to protect us. Reach out to the DOT and ask them to act on their contingency plans for long on-ground delays. September is when we believe the task force will decide on a plan everyone can agree on....WE HOPE! Contact the DOT. (http://www.dot.gov/contact.html)



 
FAA Modernization Bill on hold until Senate Reconvenes after summer break...we must be in action now!

Some depressing but not unexpected news... S:1300 is slated to hit the floor on Friday 4/25/08 at 4:00 p.m. but may not be heard for another 90 days from June 30th. The new deadline would be September 30th. The delay is due to airline lobbying and the enormous amount of money they have poured into the Senate (Drew I'll get this information later tonight from OpenSecrets.org) While it's difficult to keep our voices loud every day until they actually act on behalf of the consumer, we must do some hard work to get this done by September 30th. It's going to take everyone, and their friends and family calling their Senators and urging them to support the quick passage of S:1300 up to the floor to merge to H2881.

 
If all 23,016 of us are on the phones, it will be impossible to ignore. There are other groups who will be joining us in an effort to help. The airlines are lobbying the Senate right now to ask them not to support the passage of this bill. We must, I repeat, must make these calls or we could lose this opportunity until a new president is in office.

 
Our Fundraising Wasn't Successful -- We are nearly depleted again! Help!

Our last fundraising wasn't so hot. We did get some donations but only about 20% of what we usually get. We have very committed members and I hate to keep asking but I'm flying again to DC tomorrow and arriving home Tuesday, then flying to Chicago next week. I can't tell you what a strain this has and will be until we get the legislation passed, and/or a DOT rulemaking. But you can make the difference so give, please, and remember that your charity always pays off!

http://www.flyersrights.com/contribute.html

 
Google Ads on FlyersRights.com

I can't tell you to click one million times on our Google Ads, but if you want to donate let your fingers do the talking! Every time you click we make money for our Coalition. So click away...

 
News & Articles

·         Passengers stranded aboard plane in Gary 6/09/08 (abc7chicago.com)

·         Drinking Water Regulations for Aircraft Public Water Systems Federal Register (Environmental Documents)

·         Passengers' bill of rights takes off - Erika Lovley - Politico.com

·         Resolution to improve air passenger rights (johnstonsunrise.net)

·         Soon, no free drinks if you fly US Airways (baltimoresun.com)

·         Gate agents: the biggest victims of airline cutbacks (tripso.com)

 
Do Something! Don’t wait to hear from us. Don’t wait for the Senate to sit on their collective hands. Call. Fax. Visit. Act.

·         Download a template for Faxes and Emails to your Senator.

·         Look-up your Senator.

 
Best Regards,

Kate Hanni
Executive Director
Coalition for Passengers’ Rights, Health & Safety (CPRHS)
(707) 337-0328
http://www.flyersrights.com
http://strandedpassengers.blogspot.com

  

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