Two pieces of legislation of interest to consumers and travel agents failed to be enacted before Congress interrupted its work for the holiday on November 20…
Two pieces of legislation of interest to consumers and travel agents failed to be enacted before Congress interrupted its work for the holiday on November 20. Congress will return to Washington, D.C., in early December for a very brief session to consider these bills.
The National Intelligence Reform Act, S. 2845, includes extension of Section 145 of the 2001 Aviation and Transportation Security Act. This section provides that airline passengers holding tickets from a bankrupt carrier for a particular route are entitled to transportation on a space-available basis on any airline serving that route within 60 days after the bankrupt airline suspends operations. Additionally, the maximum fee that an airline can charge for providing standby transportation would not exceed $25 each way. These protections expired on Nov. 19, 2004.
We urge Congress to pass S. 2845 so that both consumers and travel agents will benefit. If S. 2845 does not pass with an extension of Section 145, ASTA calls upon the airline industry to adopt as policy the principles of Section 145. said Kathryn W. Sudeikis, CTC, ASTA president and CEO. Travel agents want consumers to have some assurance that efforts will be made to provide them with transportation in the event that any of the financially distressed carriers were to actually cease operation. It is critical to maintain consumer confidence in the air transportation system by removing the element of gambling from the consumer`s choices.
The other pending legislation is the Junk Fax Prevention Act, S. 2603, which allows an established business relationship to substitute for receiving advance signed written consent to send commercial faxes. The House passed the companion bill, H.R. 4600, last summer. If Congress fails to pass S. 2603 in December, there will be a six-month window in which to get a new bill passed in the new Congress or accomplish compliance with the Federal Communications Commission`s decision to required signed written consent before sending a commercial fax. ASTA is part of a coalition that filed with the FCC requesting that the stay of rules be extended for six months to have time to get legislation passed that does not require such permission for those faxes.
By enacting the S. 2603, travel agents who communicate commercial information via fax would not be burdened with the unnecessary regulation of designing and maintaining a system for written consent forms, Sudeikis added. ASTA is committed to preserving the ability of travel agents to serve their customers in the most cost efficient manner.
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