“We have identified significant benefits for all stakeholders that will likely flow from a single 3-hour standard that encourages a reengineering of current airline and airport systems and processes. Benefits include helping solve the NYC-area airport congestion conundrum,” adds Hanni.
BTC conducted its online survey of travel industry professionals and business travelers, along with follow-up in-person and phone interviews, between July 26 and August 31, 2009. The survey was distributed to 7,000 randomly selected participants from BTC’s electronic community of 35,000 people.
Some 674 people completed the BTC survey, including 198 corporate travel managers; 123 travel management company executives; 25 airline staff; 187 business travelers; and 141 “other” people. According to BTC, this last category includes travel professionals from hotel, credit card, consultancy, technology, rental car, payment systems, limo and destination management companies; and representatives from academia, state and federal government, labor and industry associations.
Among the survey’s key findings are that:
● 91 per cent of survey respondents indicated addressing extended tarmac delays should be a priority for airlines to address;
● 85 per cent of those surveyed conceptually support passenger-rights legislation;
● 82 per cent of survey participants support proposed Senate legislation that would allow passengers to disembark after 3 hours of on aircraft delay, should a captain decide it is reasonable and safe to do so;
● 85 per cent think U.S. airlines have not done enough in the past 10 years ― allowing for all their cost constraints ― to improve customer service levels;
● 77 per cent say airline customer service ― broadly defined ― has not improved at all in the past 10 years;
● 80 per cent believe airlines have not made a compelling case against passenger rights legislation;
● 64 per cent indicate they believe that airlines will not endeavor voluntarily to improve customer service levels to an acceptable degree; and
● 55 per cent think airlines will not, via an industry-wide commitment, codify passenger rights commitments and obligations in contracts of carriage.
The complete BTC analysis of its survey, including its argument as to how a 3-hour deplaning rule could help ease congestion at New York’s notoriously delay-prone airports, can be found at businesstravelcoalition.twi.bz/t.
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