The dollar: the true passenger bill of rights
OK, air travel can be a mess. There is nothing so frustrating as delays, especially delays on the tarmac. To some, this is a reason to have government create and enforce a so-called passenger bill of rights. In fact, New York is just days away from being the first state to have such positive rights enforced by the power of law. That said, we already have a passenger bill of rights: the dollar.
You see, if you are willing to pay the price, you can have aircraft on standby ready to hustle you to your destination, 24/7. Sure, if the weather is bad, you will also have delays, yet delays in relative comfort.
Given that government regulations have created the current air travel mess, why anyone would expect that the next regulation will cure the ills of regulations past is beyond me. OK. I can guess why: the lack of knowledge of Mises. But, doesn't common sense quickly reach the same conclusion as Mises? For many, the answer is no.
Let's take a look at the current system and that which is proposed. Today, whenever passengers are stuck for a long time, sitting on the tarmac, the newspapers and the internet quickly report the details. What an incentive to improve service. And, airlines are doing their best to improve given government's entangling regulations and the price and quality desires of consumers.
New York is a system of fines that only benefits government. Keep in mind that the $1000 per passenger fine is not an inconvenience fee that will end up in the hands of the passenger. No, government benefits, thus creating a perverse incentive for government to worsen the situation.
However, it's more than that to me. I like spending as little as I can on airfare. I am willing to gamble on the occasional minor inconvenience, as well as the rare major inconvenience, in order to save a sawbuck or two.
The folks who push for hassle-free flights, guaranteed by the strong arm of government, are sticking their hands in my wallet. If they desire excellent service, they can pay for it -- the market already provides. But, please allow cheapos like me to save a bit here and there.
And, don't advocate for a government solution that will a priori make things worse.
Comments (6)
"To some, this is a reason to have government create and enforce a so-called passenger bill of rights."
In New York, people don't ask--they demand. The word inconvenience is not in their vocabulary. They no longer know how to negotiate their way through situations. So, when they do experience some kind of inconvenience, they start screaming about their rights and demanding action on the part of authorities. The government is happy to give them what they want before the lawsuits start rolling in. The passenger bill of rights shuts everyone up and the government rakes in the money.
Published: December 16, 2007 1:21 AM
The real problem in air travel is the government monopoly operated airports. Could airlines treat their passengers better when they get stuck on the tarmac for 7 hours? Of course.
But what they don't really have the ability to do is go back to the gate because they will lose their place in line and won't be able to take off when the airport clears of the obstruction. There needs to be a better system in the government run airports but there is no proift/loss incentive to make things change and the fact that the public uproar seems to be centered on the airlines themselves.
The airlines partly brought this on themselves by helping perpetuate the monopoly priveliges they get at the government run airports and gaming that system to minimize real head to head competition. Since the airlines have perpetual monopoly priveleges to the gates they "own" in the nation's ariports there really isn't competition (even though it looks like it) that would naturally fix this problem through free market mechanisms.
This is a classic dilemas for libertarians. To the uninformed this looks like a break down of the free market. But in reality there is no free market operating here but private (actually public) companies operating in a closed system where the government has granted monopoly priveleges and operates the essential infrastructure. This is a classic example of government failure that is labeled as a market failure.
In the public sphere there is nobody capable or willing or knowledgeable to educate people about what is really going on.
Published: December 16, 2007 8:17 AM
I wonder.
1)It's the passenger getting stranded, not the NY government. What are the basis for not giving him/her a penny?
2)What if the delay is caused by the government itself (ie terrorist alarm) or by the weather over which nobody, not even Al Gore or Ban Ki Moon, has any power?
3)Can they get anymore insane?
Published: December 16, 2007 10:57 AM
The people of NY never cease to amaze me in how much faith they have in the ability of government to solve their stupidest problems. It is obvious that more regulation = higher fares so when faced with cheap carriers like Jet Blue and others, instead of paying higher priced carriers for better service they hurt themselves by trying to force lower priced carriers to provide the same service. I guess people are too stupid to choose an airline based on price and quality so instead they want Elliot and company to set the quality and ergo the price.
What is more troubling is two things stated in the article:
1. Bush, the budget hawk, the valiant, the destroyer of tyranny and promoter of peace, has his own albeit watered down version of a passangers bill of rights. This is terrifying.
2. The airline reps went to federal court to stop this. That is an omnious sign as federal courts are tops on the list of making up their own laws as they go along.
Published: December 16, 2007 4:02 PM
...the fundamental problem is a de facto government grant of immunity from criminal prosecution to the airline companies... for the purposes of herding & controlling their passengers.
If the owner of a crowded movie theater locked the doors to his theater to prevent patrons from leaving (and threatening them if they protested)... while that owner spent 2-8 hours attempting to repair an inoperative movie-projector --- all observers would agree that the theater owner should be immediately prosecuted for false-imprisonment/kidnapping/assault.
But the government will not prosecute airline owners for similar conduct. That is the root problem
Published: December 16, 2007 9:48 PM
Hi FranklinC
is very good!!!
Published: December 23, 2007 11:09 PM