Complaining

Like other businesses, airlines have a lot of discretion in how they respond to problems. While you do have some rights as a passenger, your demands for compensation will probably be subject to negotiation and the kind of action you get depends in large part on the way you go about complaining.

Start with the airline. Before you call or write to the Department of Transportation or some other agency for help with an air travel problem, you should give the airline a chance to resolve it.

As a rule, airlines have trouble-shooters at the airports (they're usually called Customer Service Representatives) who can take care of many problems on the spot. They can arrange meals and hotel rooms for stranded passengers, write checks for denied boarding compensation, arrange luggage repairs and settle other routine claims or complaints that involve relatively small amounts of money.

If you can't resolve the problem at the airport and want to file a complaint, it's best to call or write the airline's consumer office at its corporate headquarters. Take notes at the time the incident occurs and jot down the names of the carrier employees with whom you dealt. Keep all of your travel documents (ticket receipts, baggage check stubs, boarding passes, etc.) as well as receipts for any out-of-pocket expenses that were incurred as a result of the mishandling. Here are some helpful tips should you choose to write a letter.

• Type the letter and, if at all possible, limit it to one page in length.
• Include your daytime telephone number (with area code).
• No matter how angry you might be, keep your letter businesslike in tone and don't exaggerate what happened. If the complaint sound very vehement or sarcastic, you might wait a day and then consider rewriting it.
• Describe what happened, and give dates, cities, and flight numbers or flight times.
• Send copies, never the originals, of tickets and receipts and other documents that can back up your claim.
• Include the names of any employees who were rude or make things worse, as well as anyone who might have been especially helpful.
• Don't clutter up your complaint with petty gripes that can obscure what you're really angry about.
• Let the airline know if you've suffered any special inconvenience or monetary losses.
• Say just what you expect the carrier to do to make amends. An airline may offer to settle your claim with a check or some other kind of compensation, possibly free transportation. You might want a written apology from a rude employee or reimbursement from some loss you incurred--but the airline needs to know that you want before it can decide what action to take.
• Be reasonable. If your demands are way out of line, your letter might earn you a polite apology and a place in the airline's crank files.

If you follow these guidelines, the airlines will probably treat your complaint seriously. Your letter will help them to determine what caused your problem, as well as to suggest actions the company can take to keep the same thing from happening to other people.

If you choose to write, please be sure to include your return address and a daytime telephone number, with area code.

The Department of Transportation can provide information about what rights you may or may not have under Federal laws. If your complaint was not properly handled by the airlines, we will contact them and get back to you.

Letters from consumers help the Department of Transportation spot problem areas and trends in the airline industry. They use their complaint files to document the need for changes in the Department of Transportation's consumer protection regulations and, where warranted, as the basis for enforcement action. In addition, every month they publish a report with information about the number of complaints they receive about each airline and what problems people are having. You can write or call for a free single copy of the Air Travel Consumer Report, which also has statistics that the airlines file with us on flight delays, oversales and mishandled baggage.

If your complaint is about something you feel is a safety or security hazard, write to the Federal Aviation Administration:

or call: (800) FAA-SURE. After office hours, if you want to report something that you believe is a serious safety hazard, call the Aviation Safety Hotline at 1-800-255-1111.

In most communities there are consumer help groups that try to mediate complaints about businesses, including airlines and travel agencies.

• Most state governments have a special office that investigates consumer problems and complaints. Sometimes it is a separate division of the governor's or state attorney general's office. Check your telephone book under the sate government's listing.
• Many cities and counties have consumer affairs departments that handle complaints. Often you can register your complaint and get information over the phone or in person.
• A number of newspapers and radio or TV stations operate "Hot Lines" or "Action Lines" where individual consumers can get help. Consumer reporters, with the help of volunteers, try to mediate complaints and may report the results as a news item. The possible publicity encourages companies to take fast action on consumer problems when they are referred by the media. Some Action Lines, however, may not be able to handle every complaint they receive. They often select the most severe problems or those that are most representative of the kinds of complaints they receive.

If nothing else works, small claims court might be the best way for you to help yourself. Many cities have these courts to settle disputes involving relatively small amounts of money and to reduce the red tape and expense that people generally fear when they sue someone. An airline can generally be sued in small claims court in any jurisdiction where it operates flights or does business.

You can usually get the details of how to use the small claims court in your community by contacting your city or county office of consumer affairs, or the clerk of the court. As a rule, small claims court costs are low, you don't need a lawyer, and the procedures are must less formal and intimidating than they are in most other types of courts.