HARRISBURG PA – If you’re an unhappy airline traveler in Pennsylvania, the state Attorney General’s Office wants you to grumble about it. File a complaint, it asks.
Attorney General Michelle Henry says her office is making available “a new complaint form for Pennsylvanians encountering hardships with airline travel.” The issues can range “from flight delays and cancellations to boarding problems,” she adds. It’s now usable online.
Consumer dissatisfaction with air travel have been rising nationwide during 2024. As a result, Pennsylvania’s effort to deal with them is in partnership with the federal Department of Transportation. Both residents of Pennsylvania, and those who faced airline problems in Pennsylvania, are eligible to use the new form.
Consumers can file complaints whether they purchased tickets directly, or through an agent or third party. Be aware that the form requires specific information, such as ticket numbers, flight itinerary, flight date, ticket date purchase, ticket price, and form of payment. It also asks for specifics on what issues were encountered by the traveler.
State, federal agencies working together
This information will be useful when reviewing, and resolving, complaints. The state and federal governments intend to work together in what Henry says is “ongoing initiative … to hold airlines and agents accountable when they mistreat consumers.”
Henry announced the form’s availability on July 31 (2024; Wednesday). Her office has not yet indicated the volume of responses it has received, or how many issues have been resolved.
Later this year, federal transportation authorities plan to “launch a modernized system for handling air travel service complaints.” They expect it will “improve the customer experience for the tens of thousands of consumers who file air travel service complaints each year.”
If you want to bypass the state effort, and complain directly to the federal government itself, that’s possible with an existing form. It’s similar to that of the state, and is to be used only for air travels service complaints or comments. It’s not a forum for safety-related issues. Those are handled by the Federal Aviation Administration.
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