DOT Fines Southwest, Air China

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) reports it assessed a $150,000 civil penalty against Southwest Airlines for not responding in a timely manner to complaints filed by consumers, including passengers with disabilities, and for not adequately responding to the passengers’ specific complaints in its responses.  

The Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office found that Southwest failed to respond in a timely manner to a large number of disability-related and other consumer complaints it received from June 2011 through January 2012 because of a problem with its website.  When it responded most were sent late, DOT said.  The responses also failed to contain information specifically required by DOT rules.

In related news the DOT reported that Air China violated federal rules last July by not making announcements every 30 minutes to passengers on an aircraft delayed at New York’s JFK International Airport that they had an opportunity to leave the plane as it sat at the gate with the door open. DOT fined Air China $90,000 and ordered the airline to cease and desist from further violations.

Air China Flight 982 was scheduled to fly from JFK to Beijing Capital International Airport on July 15, 2012.  The plane sat at the gate from 6:40 p.m. to 8:26 p.m. with the door open, but Air China failed to make the required announcements, DOT said. The aircraft did not take off for Beijing until 10:51 p.m.