NY's Airline Passenger Bill of Rights Goes Into Effect

After many airline passengers were kept on bad weather-grounded planes for hours without fresh water and working bathrooms, lawmakers backed a bill for a passenger bill of rights. Today, the bill goes into effect, after opposition from the airlines.

Governor Spitzer signed the bill into law in August, citing "much needed consumer protections that will help guarantee greater passenger safety and comfort when severe delays impact their travels from New York airports." (Especially important since NY-area airports have the worst delays in the country!) But the airline industry challenged the law, telling a judge it was questionable whether "the state of New York can tell airlines what to provide." In the end, U.S. District Judge Lawrene E. Kahn ruled to uphold the bill of rights.

The NY State Airline Passenger Bill of rights requires that passenger on a plane for more than 3 hours must get water, snacks, fresh air and working restrooms. We expect to see fallout during the first storm of 2008. And after many of its passengers bore the brunt of the Valentine's Day 2007 storm, JetBlue introduced a Customer Bill of Rights.