Most flight delays or cancellations are beyond the control of airlines.
By Sheldon H. Jacobson
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
The Trump administration ended the rule that forced airlines to pay passengers for significant flight disruptions. It was proposed a year ago, near the end of the Biden administration. Though compensating passengers for flight delays and cancellations sounds reasonable to anyone who has been affected by flight disruptions, this move is indeed the correct one.
Our national airspace is the most complex air system in the world. It covers over 29 million square miles, overseeing as many as 5,500 flights in the sky at peak times. It is highly regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, which ensures that passengers stay safe and that flights get to their final destinations as efficiently as possible.
Business travelers and other frequent flyers understand the complexities of the air system and that disruptions are an inevitable part of air travel. They also know what airlines can and cannot do when their flights are delayed or canceled. The average traveler who perhaps flies no more than three times per year may feel like an airline hostage anytime something goes awry. Yet the majority of flight disruptions are out of the control of the airlines, typically weather-related (74%) and volume control (15%) as dictated by air traffic control limitations. A small fraction of airline flight disruptions is equipment-related, which is within the airline’s control and when airlines typically step forward and find alternative flights for those travelers affected.
Airlines have a vested interest in getting travelers to their destinations. They are in the business of providing transportation services; helping people complete their trip is how they succeed. It is also how they build and retain their customer base through their loyalty programs, with miles and points, a de facto currency accumulated through flying and making purchases with affinity credit cards. Without these loyalty programs, airlines would operate in the red, effectively making their flight operations a loss leader as the vehicle to retain their highly profitable loyalty program customer base, as a recent analysis shows.
In response to the COVID-19 travel disruption, airlines added greater flexibility to most tickets: If a person must cancel their flight, they can often use the value of their ticket for a future trip. This means that travelers can change their itineraries for any reason, earning a flight credit for future tickets.
Forcing cash payments as compensation for disruptions fuels an antagonistic relationship between airlines and their customers. Given that most flight disruptions would not qualify for cash payments, having such a policy in place would create confusion and unnecessarily foster ill will. Indeed, passengers who think that their situation would qualify for a cash payment would mostly be wrong.
This does not mean that airlines cannot do better. When they are responsible for flight disruptions, they typically step up and provide meal vouchers or hotel vouchers, as necessary, to meet their responsibilities.
Flyers do have rights, which are constantly being updated. A Passenger bill of rights has been put forward in the past, giving flyers information on what to expect when their flights are disrupted. Yet such one-size-fits-all policies force airlines to address case-by-case needs with a government-imposed, top-down, blunt stick.
So what can airlines do to deliver their product in a manner that keeps passengers engaged and served?
When flights are delayed or canceled, be as transparent as possible, even if this means delivering bad news. Airline personnel are prone to “over promise and under deliver,” which fosters ill-will with the airline. Flipping this script creates an environment that empowers passengers to make choices that create opportunities for them.
When flights are canceled, travelers can always request a refund. Yet if they are at the connecting point in their itinerary, this can strand them with limited choices to reach their destination.
Removing top-down government-imposed penalties is an important step to build better rapport between airlines and their passengers. Given that keeping passengers engaged with their loyalty programs is a top priority for airlines, empowering front-line airline workers to foster such loyalty is in the best interest of the airlines. A $15 meal voucher can go a long way to keeping a passenger happy during an extended delay.
Removing government-mandated compensation should be followed by each airline creating a set of principles that they can adhere to and give passengers the feeling that airlines care about them. This will achieve more than anything the government can require airlines to offer passengers.
Sheldon H. Jacobson is a computer science professor in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a data scientist, he uses his expertise in risk-based analytics to address problems in public policy.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
