Posted on: Thursday, March 15, 2001
Airlines to tell fliers of low fares, delays
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Airline passengers would be told the lowest available fares when they buy their tickets and could learn whether a flight is delayed before they leave for the airport under new steps announced by the industry yesterday.
The industry also agreed to try to reduce the number of late or canceled flights, and to set up a task force to ensure that the information on airport monitors is correct. The provisions represent the airlines' latest attempts to improve the quality of air travel, a series of voluntary steps agreed upon by the industry and the Transportation Department in 1999 as an alternative to legislation. Last month, Transportation Department Inspector General Kenneth Mead said delayed or canceled flights had increased sharply, as did consumer complaints. Mead recommended that the airlines develop a system to tell passengers of delays or cancellations before they get to the airport. The association said it would put such a system in place.
