The low rate of complaints filed to the US Department of Transportation is not indicative of general satisfaction with flying but rather because airlines make it so difficult to make a complaint, a lawmaker says.
Rep. Janice Hahn says finding the relevant information on an airline website to make an official complaint is no easy task.
Hahn’s staff conducted research and found the correct information was posted on page 48 of a 51-page ‘Contract of Carriage’ on the Spirit Airlines website.
On the American Airlines site, complaint information is at the bottom of a page entitled ‘Consumer Service Plan’ and on Delta’s website would-be complainers can only find the information on the ‘Travelers With Disabilities’ page.
A 2012 federal law requires all airlines to post information on how to file on complaint which can be made via an online form or through a hotline.
"I searched for the hotline number myself on different airline websites and couldn’t find it anywhere," Hahn said.
"If I can’t find it, I am assuming many other fliers can’t find it either, and the data demonstrates that."
Hahn last week filed an amendment to the FAA funding bill to compel airlines to display complaint information more prominently on their websites.
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