As the TSA’s use of full-body scanners turns into a national debate, it appears the agency is taking a harder line against passengers who resist.
FINE
The best things in life may be free, but that apparently doesn’t extend to the airfare on your all-inclusive vacation, at least according to the government.
Here’s something you don’t see every day: A $30,000 government fine against a company called City Skies for operating an airline without economic authority from the Transportation Department.
Federal law says an airline can’t limit its liability for lost, damaged or delayed baggage to less than $3,300 per passenger. But if you’re flying on Delta Air Lines, you might have thought otherwise.
From time to time, a consent order crosses my desk that’s just too funny to not write about. Like today’s ruling (PDF) against Falcon Air Express, a Miami-based airline whose claim to fame is running a wet T-shirt contest on a charter flight to Mexico.
Are the government’s airline cops about to get tough on crime? The Department of Transportation says it is, and now there’s new evidence that it’s following through.
Here’s a problem travelers are running into more frequently: Months after a trip, they get a bill from their rental company charging them for an unknown traffic violation, plus a handling fee. Often, there’s little recourse.
Remember last summer’s overnight tarmac stranding incident in Rochester, Minn.? The government does. This morning it issued what it called a “precedent-setting” series of fines against two airlines in connection with the lengthy ground delay.
The online travel agency Ultimate Fares faces $600,000 in government fines for failing to include taxes and service fees in its airfares, a U.S. Department of Transportation Administrative Law Judge has ruled. The fine would be the largest ever assessed for advertising violations, according to regulators.
In yet another sign that the government has adopted a “get tough” approach in dealing with the airline industry, the Federal Aviation Administration today proposed near-record penalties against two airlines for safety violations.
The Transportation Department has hit Spirit Airways with a record $375,000 fine for failing to comply with rules governing denied boarding compensation, fare advertising, baggage liability and other consumer protection requirements, the agency announced this morning.
When it comes to fines, the Transportation Department is on a roll. Last month saw an unprecedented number of actions against airlines for deceptive fare advertisements. And now, the government has put a cruise line in its crosshairs.
A few days ago, a Transportation Department official bristled when I suggested that its recent fines against airlines were little more than warning shots. It turns out the DOT isn’t done making its point.
The Transportation Department has fined three airlines for consumer rule violations, signaling a new “get-tough” approach to the airline industry, if not in practice, then at least in principle.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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