DOT 30-13
DOT Fines Caribbean Airlines for Denying Passengers Opportunity to Leave Plane, Failing to Provide Food and Water During Lengthy Tarmac Delay
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today said that Caribbean Airlines, a carrier based in Trinidad and Tobago, violated federal rules last August by not providing passengers with an opportunity to leave a plane that was delayed on the tarmac at New York’s JFK Airport for more than four hours. In addition, the carrier failed to provide customers with food and water until almost four hours after the plane left the gate during the tarmac delay. DOT fined Caribbean Airlines $100,000 and ordered the carrier to cease and desist from further violations.
“Passengers have rights when they fly, including the opportunity to leave a plane during a long tarmac delay and to access food and water,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “DOT’s tarmac delay rules were put into place to ensure that passengers are treated with respect when they travel, and we will continue to work to ensure that airlines treat their customers fairly.”
Under DOT rules, foreign airlines operating aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats that fly to and from U.S. airports are prohibited from allowing their aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than four hours without giving passengers on board an opportunity to leave the plane. Exceptions to the time limits are allowed only for safety, security or air traffic control-related reasons. There is a three-hour limit for tarmac delays on domestic flights.
For all flights delayed on the tarmac, airlines are also required to provide adequate food and water no later than two hours after an aircraft leaves the gate or lands, unless the pilot-in-command determines that it cannot provide these services for safety or security reasons.
On Aug. 15, 2012, Caribbean Airlines flight 421 from New York’s JFK Airport to Trinidad’s Piarco International Airport was scheduled to depart JFK at 2:55 p.m. and arrive at 9:25 p.m. The plane pushed back from the gate at 3:07 p.m., but was unable to depart immediately due to poor weather conditions and the need to refuel. The plane remained on the tarmac with passengers on board until the airline was able to obtain a staircase, allowing passengers to leave the plane at 7:35 p.m., 4 hours and 28 minutes after the plane initially left the gate. Although weather was a factor in the delay, the carrier did not cite any weather-related safety, security or air traffic control-related reason for failing to allow the passengers to leave the plane.
Passengers were not offered meals until between 7:00 pm and 7:30 p.m., approximately four hours after leaving the gate. The plane finally took off at approximately 10:00 p.m.
The consent order is available on the Internet at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2013-0004.
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DOT Fines Caribbean Airlines for Denying Passengers Opportunity to Leave Plane, Failing to Provide Food and Water During Lengthy Tarmac Delay
DOT Fines Alitalia for Misleading Information on Compensation for Canceled Flights
DOT 27-13 DOT Fines Alitalia for Misleading Information on Compensation for Canceled Flights WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation today fined the Italian air carrier Alitalia $125,000 for providing inaccurate information on its website regarding its policy on compensation to passengers on delayed and cancelled flights. While Alitalia’s website displayed a copy of the carrier’s General Conditions of Carriage (GCC) as required by Department rules, and specifically adopted rules required by the European Union (EU) regarding compensation for delayed and cancelled flights, the carrier claimed a right to refuse such compensation, citing provisions in its tariff that exempted travel from the U.S. from the terms of the GCC. The consent order finds that the inconsistent statements of policy contained in the tariff and the GCC were an unfair and deceptive trade practice in violation of U.S. law. The order directs the carrier to revise its tariff and GCC to reflect the carrier’s actual policy regarding compensation in cases of delayed or cancelled flights to or from the United States and orders the carrier to cease and desist from further violations of the law prohibiting airlines from engaging in unfair and deceptive practices. Following a complaint from two Alitalia passengers whose flights were canceled, the Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office investigated the carrier’s refusal to pay cash compensation to the passengers. The Department’s consent order is available on the Internet at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2012-0040. ###
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BTS Releases January Passenger Airline Employment Data; January 2013 Employment Down 2.3 Percent from January 2012
BTS 15-13 Thursday, March 28, 2013 Contact: Dave Smallen Tel: 202-366-5568
BTS Releases January Passenger Airline Employment Data; January 2013 Employment Down 2.3 Percent from January 2012
U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 379,816 workers in January 2013, 2.3 percent fewer than in January 2012, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. Scheduled passenger airline categories include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines. This was the fifth consecutive month that full-time equivalent (FTE) employment for U.S. scheduled passenger carriers was below that of the same month of the previous year. This follows 21 months of increases over the same month of the previous year (December 2010 through August 2012).
BTS, a part of the Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the January 2013 FTE total for scheduled passenger carriers was 8,962 fewer than in January 2012 and down 9.3 percent from the recent January high of 418,702 in January 2008. The five network airlines that collectively employ two-thirds of the scheduled passenger airline FTEs reported 3.1 percent fewer FTEs in January 2013, the sixth consecutive decline from the same month of the previous year for the group. Delta Air Lines, eliminating positions following its merger with Northwest Airlines, reduced FTEs by 3.7 percent from January 2012. American Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy in November 2011, reduced FTEs by 9.8 percent over the same period. United Airlines reported a post-merger total of 82,209 FTEs in January 2013, 1.1 percent more FTEs than in January 2012. US Airways reported 0.2 percent fewer FTEs while Alaska Airlines increased FTEs by 3.2 percent from January 2012. Network airlines operate a significant portion of flights using at least one hub where connections are made for flights to down-line destinations or spoke cities.
Four of the six low-cost carriers, Allegiant Airlines, Virgin America Airlines, Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways, reported an increase in FTEs. Southwest Airlines, following its merger with AirTran Airways, reported 45,835 FTEs in January 2013, 0.3 percent more than the two airlines reported separately in January 2012. Frontier Airlines was the only low-cost carrier that reported fewer FTEs. Low-cost airlines operate under a low-cost business model, with infrastructure and aircraft operating costs below the overall industry average.
See Passenger Airline Employment press release for summary tables and additional data. Historical employment data can be found on the BTS web site. -end-
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BTS Releases North American Trade Numbers by Mode of Transportation for January
BTS 14-13 Wednesday, March 27, 2013 Contact: Dave Smallen Tel: 202-366-5568
BTS Releases North American Trade Numbers by Mode of Transportation for January
Releases now include air and vessel information in addition to surface transportation; trucks transported 59% of U.S.-NAFTA trade in January 2013
Trucks carried 59.3 percent of the $90.5 billion in trade in January 2013 between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, Canada and Mexico, followed by rail at 14.3 percent, vessels at 9.8 percent, pipelines at 8.1 percent and air at 3.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 81.7 percent of the total NAFTA trade.
BTS, a part of the Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that in January 2013, for trade between the United States and Canada, trucks carried 53.1 percent of the $51.0 billion in trade, followed by rail at 16.2 percent, pipelines at 13.9 percent, vessels at 6.1 percent and air at 4.4 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 83.1 percent of the total U.S.-Canada trade.
In U.S. trade with Mexico in January 2013, trucks carried 67.4 percent of the $39.5 billion in trade, followed by vessels at 14.5 percent, rail at 11.8 percent, air at 3.1 percent and pipelines at 0.7 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 79.9 percent of the total U.S.-Mexico trade. BTS monthly TransBorder press releases, beginning with January 2013 data, now contain data for air and vessel. Previous press releases defined surface modes as: truck, rail, pipeline, and other and unknown modes. Beginning with this press release, “other and unknown” modes are not being grouped with surface transportation. Data on surface modes can be found in the press release in Figure 3 and in Tables 2, 4 and 7. The value of U.S. trade with its NAFTA partners by all modes of transportation in January rose 66.6 percent from January 2009, during the last recession. From January 2004, the first month that TransBorder freight data included air and vessel modes, the value of U.S. trade by all modes of transportation with its NAFTA partners increased by 76.5 percent to January 2013. Imports in January 2013 were up 66.5 percent since January 2004, while exports were up 90.3 percent. See BTS Transborder Data Release for summary tables, state rankings and additional data. See North American Transborder Freight Data on the BTS website for additional data for surface modes since 1995 and all modes since 2004.
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BTS Releases December 2012 Airline Traffic Data
BTS 13-13 BTS Releases December 2012 Airline Traffic Data; | |||||||||||||||||
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