Several airlines, including American, Delta and United, convinced a federal court on July 29 to temporarily block the U.S. Department of Transportation’s plan to change the way airlines disclose fees and issue refunds.
The rules, announced in April and gradually taking effect, would have required disclosure of things like baggage fees and reservation changes in advance. They would also have required airlines to provide timely cash refunds for canceled flights, services customers paid for but did not receive (such as in-flight Wi-Fi), and baggage delayed more than 12 hours domestically or 25 hours internationally. Under existing U.S. rules, passengers can get a refund if baggage is lost, but not if it is delayed.
Airlines are opposing the changes, arguing that the new rules could confuse customers and cost millions of dollars to implement. But judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana concluded that the Transportation Department likely exceeded its authority by issuing rules requiring airlines to do certain things rather than simply banning illegal activities.
The government will have a chance to defend its proposal again when the court hears upcoming oral arguments. Since 2021, officials have imposed nearly $165 million in penalties on airlines for consumer protection violations.
Amtrak fades into the background
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Norfolk Southern on July 30 over chronic delays of Amtrak trains between New York and New Orleans. Federal law gives passenger trains priority when passing or traveling on freight railroad tracks. However, Amtrak says disruptions caused by freight trains caused 900,000 minutes of delays in 2023.
Government lawyers said that last year only 24 percent of Amtrak’s trains on the 1,380-mile (2,224-kilometer) Crescent Line were on time. In one example cited in the lawsuit, a passenger train to New Orleans was delayed by an hour because Norfolk Southern dispatchers ran it behind a slow-moving freight train. Amtrak carries about 30 million passengers annually and is on track to set a ridership record this year. About 97 percent of the line’s miles are on tracks the company doesn’t own.
A Norfolk Southern spokesman said the company is committed to complying with the law and is working with Amtrak to resolve the on-time issues. -TV
Associated Press/Photo by Andy Wong
Huawei’s financiers from Beijing
Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies posted its fastest growth in four years in 2023 – even as the US and its international allies brand the company a security risk due to its ties to the communist government. Although the US has banned domestic purchases of Huawei equipment and denied the company access to semiconductors and government contracts, The Wall Street Journal found that Chinese government support – including more than $1 billion in grants and tax breaks in 2023 – boosted Huawei’s growth. -TV
