Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a new partnership at Denver International Airport on Tuesday that will streamline how consumer complaints against airlines are reviewed and resolved.
The new process for addressing consumer complaints against air travel companies reinforces state and federal commitments to protect the rights of travelers, according to a Tuesday news release from the Office of the Attorney General.
“Consumers deserve to be treated fairly, know what they’re getting, and get everything they pay for when they fly,” Weiser said. “This agreement and partnership with the DOT will allow my office to directly serve Colorado consumers when they file complaints about unfair or deceptive airline business practices and creates a process to ensure DOT prioritizes complaints we refer.”
This partnership comes at a time when complaints about flight disruptions, lack of refunds, and lost or delayed baggage are at an all-time high, the attorney general says.
Approximately 62.8 million passengers and 39.4 million checked bags were screened in January, according to the March 2024 Air Travel Consumer Report. That month, 280,093 bags were reported as mishandled, a 4% increase compared to January 2023. Additionally, 9,054 complaints were filed concerning Transportation Security Administration screening practices, a 25% decrease from the previous year, and 60,155 passengers were denied boarding because of oversold flights from October to December 2023, a 15% decrease from October to December 2022.
Under the new agreement, the attorney general’s office is authorized to investigate and resolve consumer complaints against air carriers, ticket agents, and other travel companies supervised by DOT. When necessary, the attorney general will refer complaints to the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection and coordinate with them to determine next steps, according to the release.
DOT will also provide technical assistance and training to staff in the attorney general’s office and meet with them at least once a year to assess ongoing efforts, updating Colorado on actions taken in response to state-referred complaints.
“By working together, we’re making a difference for airline passengers. We’re going to hold accountable companies who are breaking the law and undermining travel experience,” Weiser said at the Tuesday news conference announcing the partnership. “We’re going to make sure to send an important message: consumers have rights. They deserve to be treated fairly.”
The memorandum will last for two years, and Colorado and DOT can agree to extend the agreement at two-year intervals. Other states that have signed the memorandum with the DOT include California, the District of Columbia and New York.
According to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the DOT is also pressing airlines to get rid of additional fees, and airline passengers are set to receive over $3 billion in refunds and payments. Four airlines — Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines and JetBlue — have already incorporated fee-free family seating.
“We take our mission to protect consumers seriously, and today’s launch of the Airline Passenger Protection Partnership is an important milestone in that effort,” Buttigieg stated in the release. “By partnering with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, the U.S. Department of Transportation has expanded our ability to hold airlines and ticket agents accountable and protect passengers from unfair or deceptive practices.”
In a statement on the announcement, Airlines for America, an industry trade group, defended its efforts to improve the passenger experience. It cited a survey of airline passengers in January that found 71% were satisfied with their air travel experiences last year, while 11% were dissatisfied and 18% were neutral.
“We consistently work with the U.S. Department of Transportation, state attorneys general and a wide range of other state and national groups to constantly improve the customer experience for all passengers,” the group said.
But a Colorado consumer advocacy group said the new partnership could increase accountability for the airlines.
“Airlines have been skirting rules for way too many years and passengers have paid the price,” said Danny Katz, the executive director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group Foundation. “Airlines will now have to answer to more than just the overworked DOT.”
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