It Could Be Worse

Airline fighting the comparatively benign passenger bills of rights proposed or already law in the U.S., should be glad they are not facing the sanctions for late flights proposed in China for next summer. Airlines failing the standards imposed by the General Administration of Civil Aviation will not be allowed to expand for two years and chronically late flights face sanctions that include having flight routes suspended for the summer quarter when the Beijing Olympics are expected to boost traffic to record levels, according to Xinhua News Agency and Reuters. Beijing Airport plans to limit flights to 1,350 flights daily to ensure on-time arrivals and departures and authorities are requiring airlines to keep aircraft in reserve at airports where Olympic visitors are expected. In addition, travel agents will not be able to sell more seats than are actually available on flights during the summer.
Airlines should also be glad U.S. passenger reaction to flight delays do not match that of the Chinese. Reuters reported that passengers normally face “long delays, abrupt cancellations and surly, overwhelmed staff,” a painfully familiar scenario also faced by those in the U.S. However, in China, said Xinhua and Reuters, “Seething passengers have fought back by refusing to leave aircraft until compensation is paid for late flights, storming runways, and breaking down doors when herded into lounges after unannounced diversions to remote airports.”
Reuters also quoted the People’s Daily which reported that, as in the U.S. on-time flights only reached only about 75 percent at a time when passenger numbers exceeded 185 million. That seems a paltry sum compared to the many hundreds of millions on U.S. flights. Chinese authorities project that number will reach 200 million with the Olympics.