Don’t count on the Federal Aviation Administration to limit the number of bags travelers are allowed to carry on board the nation’s airliners.
At least that’s the opinion of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents flight attendants on most of the nation’s major airlines.
Last week, the FAA did a fast shuffle with a request by airlines and flight attendants that it establish standardized rules for the number and size of bags that travelers take on board.
Earlier this year, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said, “Safety is our highest priority.”
But instead of establishing a standardized policy as requested, the agency tossed the hot potato back in the laps of the airlines. The agency directed the airlines to better describe what’s allowable carry-on baggage under each airline’s existing rules.
“The new advisory will do little to reduce the excess amount of baggage flowing into the cabin. Nor will it likely reduce the number of injuries that carry-ons are causing passengers and flight attendants,” said Patricia Friend, president of the flight attendants’ association.
The document “offers nothing more than the status quo,” Friend said.
The reluctance of the FAA to clamp down recalls the agency’s actions on aircraft wiring–something it addressed only after it became obvious that wiring deteriorates with age. Friend suggests that it could take a passenger getting a broken neck from baggage tumbling out of the overhead compartment before the FAA will establish rules.
What vacation? It probably won’t be news to executives in middle management and above.
But a new study by Hyatt Hotels & Resorts says nearly one-fifth of all executives can’t get work out of their minds long enough to enjoy their vacations.
More than 75 percent at the level of vice president or above say they call their offices, receive e-mail, spend time doing office work and even schlep along a computer on their vacations.
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Among those making more than $150,000 annually, nearly 40 percent say they’ve had to cancel vacations entirely, compared with less than 20 percent of those making less than $75,000 a year.
Holding the line: Chicago aviation officials say competition among the nation’s airlines is benefiting Chicago travelers, despite claims to the contrary by some U.S. Department of Transportation officials and Frontier Airlines, which has accused United Airlines of predatory pricing.
Fares increased an average of 7.4 percent in Chicago last year, compared with increases ranging to nearly 50 percent at some airports. Air fares rose an average of 43 percent in Long Beach, Calif., and 12 percent in Los Angeles.
“Clearly, the air-service competition we have fostered within the Chicago airport system has resulted in lower air fares for our passengers,” said Mary Rose Loney, the city’s aviation commissioner.
Unfortunately, Loney may be preaching to the choir.
Union label: At least two groups got omitted from all the back-patting recently about the extra $2 million the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau will be receiving this year as a result of legislation signed by Gov. Jim Edgar.
Those groups are the two labor unions–Decorators Union Local 17 and Riggers Union Local 136–that some people at the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority tried to squeeze out last year.
Without their help, the money would have never found its way to Chicago, according to Timothy Hennessey, a lobbyist who helped shepherd the bill through the state legislature.
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You can reach John Schmeltzer at [email protected] or baiduhai, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.