From today’s NPR News Online:
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It has been a chaotic start to the summer for many travelers as airlines struggle to meet surging demand. Tens of thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled. And now the Department of Transportation is stepping up pressure on the airlines on three fronts – the denial of refunds for cancelled flights, charging extra fees for families to sit together and the treatment of passengers with disabilities. NPR’s David Schaper reports.
DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE: Just how bad is it to fly this summer?
BILL MCGEE: I’m not speaking hyperbolically, but I can tell you, David, that this is the worst I’ve ever seen in the 37 years I’ve been around this industry.
SCHAPER: Bill McGee used to work in airline operations and is now an aviation consumer advocate with the American Economic Liberties Project.
MCGEE: The fact is the airlines – their performance this summer is just absolutely awful. And I think, you know, there’s going to have to be a reckoning.
SCHAPER: Consumer complaints against airlines so far this year are up more than 300% over pre-pandemic levels. So Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Fox News Sunday that airlines need to fix their operations and improve customer service.
Read or listen to the complete interview here: