FlyersRights.org

SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE TO MARKUP FAA REAUTHORIZATION BILL; PASSENGER PRIORITIES REMAIN ABSENT, AS REPORTED BY FLYERSRIGHTS

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Wednesday, February 7, 2024

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday February 8th the Senate Commerce Committee will mark up its FAA Reauthorization bill, which was originally scheduled to be marked up in June 2023.

Key Points:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday February 8th the Senate Commerce Committee will mark up its FAA Reauthorization bill, which was originally scheduled to be marked up in June 2023.
The House of Representatives passed its Reauthorization bill on a bipartisan basis in July of 2023.
The current draft of the Senate bill does not include many of the passenger protection and safety provisions supported by a group of national airline passenger and consumer protection organizations.
Consumer groups wrote to the chairs of the House and Senate committees in July 2022 to identify consumers' top priorities.

FLYERSRIGHTS.ORG RESPONDS TO FAA'S DENIAL OF MINIMUM SEAT SIZE STANDARDS

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Wednesday, July 19, 2023

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FlyersRights.org submitted its Petition for Reconsideration to the FAA, requesting the FAA reconsider its April denial of FlyersRights.org's October 2022 minimum seat size rulemaking petition. The seat rulemaking petition asked the FAA to set 9 specific minimum seat size dimensions that would accommodate the safety and health needs of at least 90% of the American public and that would fulfill its obligations under the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act.

Key Points:

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FlyersRights.org submitted its Petition for Reconsideration to the FAA, requesting the FAA reconsider its April denial of FlyersRights.org's October 2022 minimum seat size rulemaking petition.
In April 2023, the FAA denied the petition, claiming that minimum seat standards are not presently necessary for safety.
Paul Hudson, President of FlyersRights.org and member of the FAA's aforementioned Emergency Evacuation Standards ARC explained, "The FAA again refuses to follow Congress' clear command to establish minimum seat size standards.
By relying on a generalized statement from the Emergency Evacuation Standards ARC, which was prohibited from even considering seat size, the FAA justifies its continued refusal to act on the seat size issue to protect passenger safety and health."

HOUSE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE FAA LEGISLATION IGNORES PASSENGER RIGHTS, SAY CONSUMER GROUPS

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Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights.org and the designated passenger representative to the FAA noted,

Key Points:

Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights.org and the designated passenger representative to the FAA noted,
"This legislation would grant significantly more power to the airline industry and FAA bureaucrats while ignoring passenger interests.
Despite airlines receiving over $54 billion in federal subsidies, air travel breakdowns, delays, cancellations, and passenger complaints are at record levels.
Missing from the legislation were nearly all passenger protection and safety provisions supported by a coalition of national passenger and consumer protection organizations.
Also missing was any reform of FAA secrecy policies that block any public oversight of its safety decision making.

FLYERSRIGHTS.ORG FILES BOEING 737 MAX FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT LAWSUIT REPLY BRIEF

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Monday, March 13, 2023

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WASHINGTON, March 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FlyersRights.org submitted its reply brief to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case to obtain information on the fixes the FAA would approve for the Boeing 737 MAX and the results of flight tests and safety analyses. The case is scheduled for Oral Argument on April 20, 2023.

Key Points:

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FlyersRights.org submitted its reply brief to the D.C.
Circuit Court of Appeals in its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case to obtain information on the fixes the FAA would approve for the Boeing 737 MAX and the results of flight tests and safety analyses.
In the aftermath of the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people, Boeing CEOs and FAA Administrators made numerous transparency pledges at Congressional hearings.
Finally, the brief contended that the FAA did not properly segregate information that could be released from information that the FAA determined would be withheld.

APPEALS COURT DENIES FLYERS RIGHTS MANDAMUS PETITION; RULES THAT CONGRESS DID NOT COMMAND FAA TO SET MINIMUM SEAT SIZE STANDARDS

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Thursday, March 9, 2023

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WASHINGTON, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, a three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied FlyersRights.org's mandamus petition seeking to compel the FAA to enact the minimum seat size provision of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act. Section 577 of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act states that the FAA "shall issue regulations that establish minimum dimensions for passenger seats…including minimums for seat pitch, width, and length, and that are necessary for the safety of passengers."

Key Points:

Circuit denied FlyersRights.org's mandamus petition seeking to compel the FAA to enact the minimum seat size provision of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act.
The appeals court agreed with the FAA's contention that the statute is optional if it believes that seat standards are not currently necessary to ensure passenger safety.
The court substituted the word 'if' for the word 'and' in the statute requiring minimum seat size standards by October 2019.
FlyersRights.org filed the mandamus petition in January 2022, requesting the court to set a deadline for the FAA's minimum seat size rulemaking.

FLYERS RIGHTS FILES MINIMUM SEAT DIMENSION RULEMAKING PETITION WITH THE FAA ON THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE STATUTORY DEADLINE

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Friday, October 7, 2022

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FlyersRights.org, the largest airline passenger organization, filed a rulemaking petition with the FAA on October 5th, the 3rd anniversary of the ignored Congressional deadline for the FAA to set minimum seat standards. FlyersRights.org's rulemaking petition proposes seat dimensions that accommodate 90% to 92% of the population.

Key Points:

The FAA has not begun the rulemaking process, only requesting comments from the public on one safety aspect, emergency evacuations.
The 26 page rulemaking petition contains nearly 200 footnotes to ergonomic, demographic, medical, safety studies, reports and statistics.
Flyers Rights filed a mandamus petition in January 2022, requesting the court to set a deadline for the FAA's minimum seat size rulemaking.
The FAA denied 2015 FlyersRights.org's rulemaking petition twice, in 2016 and 2018, denying any relationship between seat size and emergency evacuation times.

FLYERSRIGHTS RESPONDS TO FAA'S ARGUMENT THAT IT DOES NOT NEED TO FOLLOW THE CONGRESSIONAL MANDATE TO ESTABLISH SEAT SIZE STANDARDS

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Monday, May 2, 2022

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WASHINGTON , May 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FlyersRights.org, the largest airline passenger rights organization, has filed its reply brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in its lawsuit seeking to compel the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue the minimum seat size standards required by Congress in the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act. The statutory deadline passed more than two and a half years ago. The FAA, days before it filed its brief in April, released a May 2020 report and a January 2021 Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) report. The FAA argued that it does not need to set minimum seat standards.

Key Points:

Circuit in its lawsuit seeking to compel the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue the minimum seat size standards required by Congress in the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act.
The FAA argued that it does not need to set minimum seat standards.
Paul Hudson, the President of FlyersRights.org remarked, "The FAA's argument that its general authority to promote aviation safety overrides the clear and specific Congressional mandate to set seat standards is preposterous.
The law is clear, and the FAA must set minimum seat size standards."

FlyersRights.org Litigation Continues After Boeing Settles Civil Case With MAX Crash Victims

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Friday, February 11, 2022

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Boeing has settled its civil cases with all but two of the families of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Boeing 737 MAX crash on March 10, 2019.

Key Points:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Boeing has settled its civil cases with all but two of the families of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Boeing 737 MAX crash on March 10, 2019.
The ET302 crash, along with the Lion Air Flight 610 crash, just over four months prior, claimed the lives of 357 people.
FlyersRights.org, however, continues its litigation, supported by independent safety experts, to compel the FAA to release the MAX fix details and flight testing.
Boeing has admitted liability for compensatory damages caused by the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, and the victims' families may pursue compensatory damages in Illinois.

Airline Passenger Group Publishes Social Distancing and Stimulus Plan

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Wednesday, March 24, 2021

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"The purpose of the Social Distancing and Stimulus Plan is to increase passenger confidence in the safety of air travel by actually increasing the safety of air travel.

Key Points:

"The purpose of the Social Distancing and Stimulus Plan is to increase passenger confidence in the safety of air travel by actually increasing the safety of air travel.
Better social distancing on planes is attainable and would decrease the spread of Covid-19.
What the airlines have asked for and have been given is merely a band-aid to the problem of depressed passenger demand."
The FlyersRights.org plan requires airlines to limit passenger load factors to 50% or 65%.

Flyers Rights Publishes Covid-19 Air Travel Mitigation Policy Memorandum, Applauds the Administration's First Steps

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Thursday, February 4, 2021

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Paul Hudson, President of Flyers Rights explained, "President Biden was clear that a mask rule was just one of the policies that the DOT and FAA should implement to halt the spread of Covid-19 in air travel.

Key Points:

Paul Hudson, President of Flyers Rights explained, "President Biden was clear that a mask rule was just one of the policies that the DOT and FAA should implement to halt the spread of Covid-19 in air travel.
Flyers Rights' memorandum recommends a DOT rule prohibiting airlines from putting passengers in middle seats.
While many airlines at one point adopted this as a policy, only Delta Air Lines has an active middle-seat blocking policy, set to expire at the end of March.
Paul Hudson noted, "The Biden Administration's mask mandate is a welcomed change of policy and a great start in making air travel safer.