Skift Take
This U.S. Department of Transportation has passed the most consumer-friendly regulations in the history of U.S. aviation, but that doesn't stop airlines from breaking the rules.
The Department of Transportation levied $3.6 million in penalties for violations of air travel consumer-protection rules in 2012.
This is $300,000 more than 2011 and more than double the fines levied in 2010. The number of enforcement orders has more than doubled in just three years.
The reason for the jump in both the number of fines and the amounts levied is due to the introduction of two consumer protection rules starting in 2009. The first ruling limited the amount of time that a U.S. carrier could remain on the tarmac before deplaning passengers to three hours. It also required airlines to display flight delay information on their websites and adopt customer service plans.
The number of tarmac delays longer than three hours dropped by 648 to only 16 incidents in the first full 10 months, May 2010 to February 2011, that the rule was in effect.
A second rule in 2011 extended the time limit on tarmac delays to include a four-hour cap for foreign carriers. The rule also required airlines to refund passengers for lost bags, fully disclose all fees in onlin
