The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined the Brazilian airline GOL $250,000 for violating a number of DOT’s rules protecting the rights of air travelers. This is the largest penalty assessed for violations of the rules adopted in April 2011.
The airline was ordered to cease and desist from further violations of the Department’s airline consumer rules.
“We adopted these rules to ensure that passengers are treated with respect when they buy a ticket or board a plane,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We will not tolerate disregard of our rules and will take enforcement action when necessary to protect travelers.”
The Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office found that GOL’s U.S. website, for a period of time after it was launched in November 2012, failed to include a variety of information and features required by DOT air travel consumer protection rules. The website did not include a contingency plan for handling lengthy tarmac delays or a link from the homepage to a list of fees for baggage and other optional services.
GOL also violated DOT’s full-fare advertising requirement by failing to include taxes and fees in fares displayed on the website in response to consumer searches. The full fare, including taxes and fees, was available only after the consumer selected a specific itinerary.
The airline also failed to post its contract of carriage in an easily accessible form on its website. A consumer had to begin the process of searching for an itinerary before being able to gain access to the contract information. This made it hard to easily compare GOL’s contract with those of other airlines, and made obtaining the contract difficult for passengers who wanted to review the information online before booking a flight by telephone or with a ticket agent.
GOL also failed to include on its website required information on how consumers can file a complaint with the airline.
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DOT Press Release: Code Share Disclosure
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined two ticket agents for violating the Department’s rules on disclosure of code-share flights. DOT issued a $125,000 fine against Carlson Wagonlit Travel and a $65,000 fine against Frosch International Travel, and both companies were ordered to cease and desist from further violations. The amount of the fines was based on the specific circumstances of the individual cases. Today’s consent orders are part of an ongoing effort by DOT to ensure that ticket agents comply with the code-share disclosure rules.“No one wants to arrive to their gate and learn for the first time that the airline they thought was operating their flight actually sold them a ticket for another airline,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We will continue to make sure that all companies selling air transportation are transparent with consumers and will take enforcement action when they fail to disclose code-sharing arrangements.”
Under code-sharing, an airline sells seats on flights using its designator code, but the flights are operated by a separate airline.In this case, DOT’s Aviation Enforcement Office made telephone calls to a number of agents during January and February of 2013 and inquired about booking certain flights. During these calls, the reservations agents for both companies failed to disclose that the flights were being operated under code-share arrangements. The agents identified only the name of the airline marketing the flight and not the name of airline operating the flight. This violated DOT rules requiring airlines and ticket agents to inform consumers if a flight is operated under a code-share arrangement, as well as disclose the corporate name of the transporting airline and any other name under which the flight is offered to the public.
DOT takes enforcement action when necessary against companies that sell air transportation based on consumer complaints and the Department’s own internal investigations. DOT has now issued six fines for code-sharing violations this year, totaling $430,000.
The consent orders are available at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2013-0004.
- DOT | FAA | Fines | press release
Press Release: FAA Proposes $295,750 Civil Penalty Against Skywest Airlines
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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $295,750 civil penalty against SkyWest Airlines, Inc. of St. George, Utah, for allegedly violating DOT drug and alcohol testing regulations.The FAA alleges SkyWest failed to include more than 150 safety?sensitive employees in its random drug testing pool. Further, SkyWest allegedly failed to receive verified negative drug test results for two other employees before hiring one for, and transferring the other to, safety-sensitive positions.
The FAA also alleges SkyWest subjected three employees who were not in safety-sensitive positions to post-accident drug tests that are only applicable to safety-sensitive employees, and improperly cancelled a return-to-duty test because it was not directly observed.
SkyWest is scheduled to have an informal conference with the FAA this month to discuss the matter.
Press Release: Airline Consumer Complaints Down From Previous Year
WASHINGTON – Airline consumer complaints filed with DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division during the first nine months of this year were down 14.1 percent from the first nine months of 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report released today.
From January to September 2013, the Department received 10,439 consumer complaints, down from the total of 12,153 filed during the first nine months of 2012. In September, the Department received 1,008 complaints about airline service from consumers, down 6.8 percent from the 1,081 complaints filed in September 2012 and down 23.5 percent from the 1,318 received in August 2013.The consumer report also includes data on tarmac delays, on-time performance, cancellations, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays filed with the Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by the reporting carriers. In addition, the consumer report contains information on airline bumping, mishandled baggage reports filed by consumers with the carriers, and disability and discrimination complaints received by DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division. The consumer report also includes reports of incidents involving the loss, death, or injury of pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.
Department of Transportation Report Substantiates Whistleblower’s Safety Concerns at American Airlines Certificate Management Office
U.S. Office of Special Counsel
1730 M Street, N.W.,Suite 218
Washington, D.C. 20036?4505FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC/November 4, 2010—Today the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) transmitted to the President and Congress reports of the Department of Transportation (DOT) responding to a whistleblower’s allegations that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) failed to provide effective oversight of American Airlines and to address the air carrier’s non? compliance with inspection and maintenance requirements.
The whistleblower, Mr. Andrew G. Blosser, an FAA Aviation Safety Inspector assigned to the American Airlines Certificate Management Office (CMO), in Fort Worth, Texas, alleged that CMO officials were unwilling or unable to obtain positive corrective actions from the air carrier and that the failure to enforce inspection and maintenance requirements has resulted in a poorly maintained fleet that represents a safety concern for the flying public. Mr. Blosser identified six areas of concern regarding American Airlines’ non?compliance: (1) maintenance procedures; (2) minimum equipment list (MEL) deferrals; (3) required inspection items (RII); (4) the repair station training needs assessment (TNA); (5) the Continuing Analysis and Surveillance System (CASS); and (6) the fuel tank system (FTS) maintenance program.
The report and a supplemental report submitted to OSC by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood substantiated Mr. Blosser’s allegations that the CMO failed to ensure that American Airlines complied with requirements in four of the six areas identified above; specifically, maintenance procedures, MEL deferrals, RII requirements, and CASS requirements. The investigation found that at the time of Mr. Blosser’s disclosures, CMO Actions to ensure compliance were not effective. In addition, the investigation found that inaccurate and untimely FAA guidance for the review and approval of the air carrier’s FTS maintenance program most likely contributed to inspector confusion and uncertainty as to whether the program met federal regulations and airworthiness directive (AD) requirements. ADs are rules that FAA issues to address an unsafe condition that exists in an aircraft product or is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design.
In response to the findings, FAA Administrator J. Randolph Babbitt pledged to take corrective action, including improving policies and procedures within the CMO. In addition, FAA removed or reassigned managers and noted that American Airlines replaced several senior level personnel. FAA further indicated that it plans to have an outside office provide oversight of the CMO to ensure corrective actions are taken. By March 2011, inspectors from outside the region will conduct an independent audit to assess the effectiveness of the corrective actions, and in July 2011, the FAA’s Flight Standards Quality Assurance Division will conduct an independent Flight Standards Evaluation Program evaluation of the CMO.
OSC determined that the agency’s report contains all of the information required by statute and the findings appear reasonable.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency and operates as a secure channel for disclosures of whistleblower complaints. Its primary mission is to safeguard the merit system in federal employment by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially retaliation for whistleblowing. OSC also has jurisdiction over the Hatch Act. For more information please visit our web site at www.osc.gov or call 1 (800) 872-9855.