H.R. 4-FAA Reauthorization: Some Mixed Baggage.

After several years of patchwork re-budgeting, the U.S. Senate has finally passed The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (on a 93-6 vote) after earlier House approval. H.R. 4 is set to stabilize the agency for at least the next half-decade or so—paid for from such sources as the Airport & Airway Trust and other apportionment funds through 2023.

But along with a range of measures that can loosely be construed as travel consumer-friendly, some very notable, if not quite controversial provisions are either omitted, quietly sandbagged or airline industry lobbied away.

The most conspicuous of which regards the addressing of airline fares and fees/surcharges (esp. baggage and change fees)—the current bane of air travelers, with no countervailing FAA recourse or remedy in sight. The same can be said for passenger seat size limitations (width, length, pitch), particularly non-stop shrinkage in economy/ coach class (presently down to 28-30 inches between rows). Here, the agency has been mandated to study/determine within one year minimum seat spacing for purposes of quick, safe emergency evacuations, including into-water impacts.

Pertinent to travelers as well is the official ban on involuntary bumping of onboard passengers (which has been the carrier practice of late anyway), prohibiting unfair or deceptive carrier removals of travelers who hold confirmed reservations and have checked-in prior to the C-I deadline. This, while directing due compensation for involuntary boarding denials: minimum but no maximum levels, to be paid proactively, not merely upon traveler request.

As to the blanket issue of passenger rights, H.R. 4 reiterates that air carriers are required to prominently  place policies on sites, mobile apps and hotlines (for complaints and commentary).  In airline advertising and other promotional devices, fares and fees/surcharges must be clearly disclosed (namely, total ticket cost including government-imposed taxes) prior to purchase, along with a statement of additional fees for checked bags and carry-on’s. Less clearly stipulated is the matter of flight-change charges and myriad incidental fees for everything from peanuts to pillows.

Further, consumer information on actual flight times is to be saliently displayed—meaning the projected period between ‘actual wheels off and wheels on’ for a reportable flight, including its performance pattern during the recent calendar month. Communicated as well shall be carrier policies on delays/cancellations, mishandled or lost baggage. This info must detail compensation for rebooking, refunds, meals/lodging, and voluntary giving-up of seats due to overbooking or other passenger priority. Protections are also written into the bill for the (change/holds/cancellation/refund, etc.) policies of large intermediate ticket agents.

In any case, mobile device/cell phone voice communication inflight is barred, even though carrier policy has long prohibited passenger calls aloft, due to possible interference with cockpit to ground tower connections. The bill’s safety/priority measures require increased training for the air transport of lithium (ion) cells and batteries; air ambulance services need to clearly disclose charges and consumer protection policies.

But save for onboard emergency medical equipment, access/mobility for the disabled, anti-smoking (including electronic) onboard—direct travel consumer protection-wise, that’s about it…

Safety Catch-Alls.

Otherwise, H.R. 4 broadly (and thinly) focuses on air system safety, calling for safety/airworthiness certification reform and performance/streamlining metrics agency- and industry-wide; tackling ground transportation, air shows, terminal aerodromes and lactation areas on the miscellaneous side.

Variously secondary cockpit barriers must be installed aboard new aircraft delivered to carriers from here on. While rules for flight attendant on-duty and rest periods are to be tightened (10 consecutive hour rest period after 14 hours, and other fatigue management to improve alertness and limit performance errors), with corresponding pilot/crew rules. Studies are in order for the health and hazard impact of flight paths and overflight noise on communities neighboring airports, to employ noise exposure mapping. System management ‘test range’ assessments must also be made on the tracking of, and collision risks low-altitude unmanned traffic (drones, hovercraft vehicles, model planes, etc.) may pose on manned ascending and approaching aircraft.

Moreover, overall industry and workforce safety Certification Reforms are stipulated in Title II, flight performance targets/objectives to be established by a multidisciplinary review committee answerable to the Secretary of Transportation. Provisions are also inserted for advanced cockpit displays and e-learning on the latest (e.g., HUD, SVS and EVS system) safety technologies for pilots and crews alike. Processes and procedures for a global approach to cyber security, establishing and R&D ‘testbed’ threat modeling to address in-cabin vulnerabilities, and the national airspace and international systems overall. Aircraft tracking, flight times and overwater surveillance/retrieval refinements are to be duly implemented—whatever, whenever that means going forward…

Goodies Bag.

But more clearly taken care of are commercial airports. For one thing, limits have been removed (Citizens United-style) on Passenger Facility Charges (PFC), ostensibly to allow primary airports to better finance infrastructure improvements (towers to terminals and taxiways, etc.), ultimately benefitting the traveling public, but gouging us in the process. Yet there is no nod whatsoever toward privatizing or significantly strengthening the nation’s air traffic control system beyond tower/airfield markings and remote ATC tower deployment to smaller airports via a three-year pilot program. This Remote Tower Pilot Program is slated to select rural and small communities, using non-hub primary and non-primary airports without present towers among the criteria. The bill also forbids the FAA from requiring airports to provide construction services and building space without adequate compensation or reimbursement—say, from block grant funding—which could theoretically help especially struggling smaller airports.

Higher Callings.

Therein being an H.R. 4 bright spot: For on paper, the bill does drive resources toward greater small community air service, drawing from the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011, addressing arbitrary route termination and unreasonably high fares in sole carrier or otherwise monopolized service areas. This involves setting up regional pilot programs to aid un- (or ill-) served destinations, establishing new route structures in small-to-medium hubs and currently non-eligible places for at least two years—along with cost-share funding for their ATC towers. This, Vamigré’s Destination Dispersion function will keenly monitor and advise.

Encouraging, too, is Title VI’s set-asides for Disaster Recovery Reform. Items the likes of hazard mitigation, wildfire prevention, evacuation routes, rebuilding/planting assistance, and temporary housing/subsistence relief could represent a key funding source in this time of untold climate change,  coast to coast and beyond.

Here’s one last cherry on top, however pie-in-the-sky it may be: Directing FAA leadership on the R&D and a regulatory/certification framework for safe commercial re-deployment, operation of supersonic aircraft— so long prohibited over U.S. routes.

In all, H.R. 4 itself doesn’t spell disaster for us travelers, nonetheless does tip its Congressional cap and scales toward the airlines and their supportive facilities. So Vamigré will more deep dive into the minutiae and ramifications of this mixed bag in coming days, covering how closely (and quickly) the FAA hews to the bill’s directives. On the other hand, we’re not holding our fee’d up, pressure-packed breaths on major changes/palliatives (if any) in the challenges and prop wash we invariably face as we go.

Still, Vamigrate on we will, intrepidly so…