Hawaiian airlines has been slapped with a $160,000 fine by the US Department of Transportation for two separate offenses of false advertising of promotional fares and for underpaying claims for mishandled baggage.
The DOT’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings found that Hawaiian only compensated customers with $30 a day for a maximum of three days for lost baggage.
Under Federal law airlines’ liability is a minimum of $3,400.
"The US DOT review revealed inconsistencies in the application of our baggage claims policy in 2013 that we have already corrected. As the DOT notes in its finding, we have updated our policies and embarked on employee training to make sure our policies are consistently followed," the airline said in a statement.
The airline was also found to be advertising a promotional fare that didn’t exist.
In 2013 it ran a promotion offering a half price roundtrip companion fare when signing up for Hawaiian’s Visa Signature credit card program.
However after selecting qualifying flights customers found higher fares were displayed on checkout.
