Liberty Matters

Exactly what rights do passengers on airliners have, and should the federal government become involved?

A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down a state law requiring airlines to give food, water, clean toilets and fresh air to passengers stuck in delayed planes, saying the measure was well-intentioned but stepped on federal authority.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said New York’s law — the first of its kind in the country — interferes with federal law governing the price, route or service of an air carrier.

The law was passed after thousands of passengers were stranded aboard airplanes for up to 10 hours on several JetBlue Airways flights at Kennedy International Airport on Valentine’s Day last year. They complained they were deprived of food and water and that toilets overflowed. A month later, hundreds more passengers of other airlines were stranded aboard planes at JFK after a daylong ice storm.

I applaud the appeals court for this decision. Let’s face it, keeping your customers happy is purely a business decision. Airline customers do not have a right to water, food, clean toilets, and fresh air. I know that sounds harsh, but hear me out. It is true that these things would make the delayed flight a bit more bearable, but they are not, in any sense of the word, rights. An airline is under no obligation to provide these things to its passengers. They do so out of the prospect of return customers and good word-of-mouth advertising. At the end of the day, one that has a questionable experience with a company should not use that particular company again. If one hears of questionable experiences with a company, and still uses them, that company should thank its lucky stars that the person was a customer and do what it can, within reason, to show that they appreciate their business. The less government is involved in business, the better things will be…to an extent.

In this case, as much of a pain in the butt as it was for the passengers, they should consider it a learning experience AND tell everyone who will listen about their terrible experience. Once the impact of less passengers is felt on the airline’s bottom line, if they want to stay competitive and in business, they will HAVE to address the concerns. If not, they will simply go the way of other businesses that were not as competitive as they should have been. Choosing to do the things mentioned in the article then becomes a VERY IMPORTANT business decision. How much are these customers worth to the airline? Choose wrong and you’re out of business; choose right and you’re still in. Bad business gone, good business lives on.

Of course, it isn’t as simple as that when it comes to the airline industry. As they are subsidized by the government (read: kept afloat by spending your taxes) they will still feel the impact of less passengers, but not to the extent they should. If airlines were really forced to deal with the full implications of the decisions they make, rest assured we would be a much happier air-traveling populace. Does this mean that individuals will get everything they want? Of course not. What it does mean is that we will get a truer compromise between what we want and what the airline is able to offer. Those that can afford to be more accommodating, whether it be through cost-cutting, value-added services, or a better business structure, will be rewarded with a greater customer base. Airlines that, either, choose to offer less or simply cannot afford to do so will become a mere footnote in our country’s business history. This is a good thing. The only way everyone wins is if we have a truly competitive business environment. Government MUST be kept out of it to the greatest extent possible. No more corporate welfare. No more government subsidies. Level the playing field and allow those that can provide the best products and services we desire, at the lowest possible cost, the ability to do so. Competition spurs innovation which lowers cost.

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