To
improve service provided to the public by domestic and foreign air
carriers.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Investigation of Complaints. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
The
Aviation Consumer Protection Division provides assistance and information
to consumers, including air travelers with disabilities, trying
to resolve complaints against airlines, travel agents, and air tour
operators. The Division also investigates alleged violations of
airline passengers' civil rights and provides information about
specific air travel service problems such as lost baggage, oversold
flights, scheduling problems and overcharges, and may refer people
to local Small Claims courts if informal mediation efforts fail.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant
Eligibility: All users of air transportation.
Beneficiary
Eligibility: All users of air transportation.
Pre-application
Coordination: None. This program is excluded
from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application
Procedure: The Division requests that complainants
first contact the airline in an attempt to resolve the complaint.
If that is unsuccessful, they can call or email the Division or
send a letter stating pertinent facts about the incident that
caused the complaint as well as copies (never originals) of tickets
or baggage tags, if these documents help to explain the nature
of the problem. Please include with your letter of complaint a
daytime telephone number.
Award
Procedure: Not applicable.
Deadlines:
None, but complaint should be filed as soon as possible after
the problem occurs.
Range
of Approval/Disapproval Time: Not applicable.
Appeals:
Not applicable.
Renewals:
Not applicable.
ASSISTANCE
CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula
and Matching Requirements: This program has
no statutory formula.
Length
and Time Phasing of Assistance: Not applicable.
POST
ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
None.
Audits:
None.
Records:
None.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION:
Account
Identification: 69-0102-0-1-407.
Obligations:
(Salaries and expenses) FY 01 $810,000; FY 02 est $945,000; and
FY 03 est $1,236,000.
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance: Not applicable.
For calendar year 2002, the total number of consumer complaints
and information requests received was approximately 18,500.
REGULATIONS,
GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Copies of the pamphlet "Fly-Rights, A Guide to Air Travel in the
U.S." are available from the Consumer Information Center-6A, P.O.
Box 100, Pueblo, CO 81002. Enclose check or money order payable
to Superintendent of Documents in the amount of $1.75 per copy with
a 25 percent discount on orders of 100 copies or more. Copies of
the "Air Travel Consumer Report" issued monthly and "Plane Talk",
a series of air travel fact sheets, are available free of charge
by writing to the headquarters office listed. These publications
can also be found on the Department of Transportation's world wide
web site at: http://www.dot.gov/circonsumer.
INFORMATION
CONTACTS:
Regional
or Local Office: Alaska Aviation Statistics
Field Office, Department of Transportation, 801 B Street Room #506,
Anchorage, AK 99501-23657. Telephone: (907) 271-5147.
Headquarters
Office: Aviation Consumer Protection Division,
C-75 (Norman Strickman), Room 4107, Department of Transportation,
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202)
366-5957.
Web
Site Address: http://www.ost.dot.gov/airconsumer
