Yesterday’s post on the European Union’s Passenger Bill of Rights (EC 261 February 2004) highlighted some of the loopholes and shortcomings of the EU regulation that was designed to ensure that passengers get taken care of when they face cancellations or extended delays. Even though there is great room for improvement with the EU regulation, it seems at the very least, they are trying to take a step in the right direction. That made me realize how little our federal government is really doing to protect the rights of passengers flying to and from the United States. Apparently, we passengers aren’t the only ones a little fed up with the feds on this matter. Tired of sitting idly by, the State of New York passed its own Passenger Bill of Rights. The bill will require airlines to provide passengers with “food, water, fresh air, power, and working restrooms on any flight that has left the gate and been on the tarmac for more than three hours…”

So, what does all this mean? Well, it means you can still get stuck on the tarmac at JFK for seven hours, but at least you’ll have some peanuts and a working bathroom while you wait. It also means that the states are having to take up the charge where the federal government should be leading. New York is the first to go ahead with a passenger bill of rights, but it’s a bill that still seems quite toothless. It doesn’t demand compensation or explain the rules of overbooking, and it doesn’t have the weight of Washington behind it. The whole situation was summed up perfectly over at Upgrade: Travel Better:

But the fact that this is a local law, and not a federal one, is absurd. Will we now need a separate contract of carriage for every possible way station on our trips? Im all for states taking the initiative when the federal government wont act (think California emissions), but laws like this one or the Chicago bill just indicate how broken the system is, from top to bottom.

I applaud New York for trying to do something, but we’re still a long way away from where we need to be.