ICYMI: Senator Hassan Introduces TICKETS Act in Response to United Incident

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, Senator Maggie Hassan introduced the Transparency, Improvements, and Compensation to Keep Every Ticketholder Safe (TICKETS) Act to strengthen consumer protections for the flying public and help prevent future incidents like the one that occurred on United Flight 3411.

See below for highlights of the coverage:

Washington Post: Senate bill would expand protections for air travelers, require study of airline overbooking

Legislation set to be introduced in the Senate on Wednesday would bar airlines from involuntarily removing passengers once they have boarded a flight and eliminate the caps on the compensation they can receive if they are bumped.

The bill's sponsors, Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Brian Schatz (D-HI), say the goal is to prevent a repeat of an incident at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in which a Kentucky man was forcibly removed from his flight when he refused to give up his seat to accommodate airline crew members.

The Transparency, Improvements, and Compensation to Keep Every Ticketholder Safe (TICKETS) Act also calls for the secretary of transportation to review ticket overselling practices and consider whether limits should be placed on the number of tickets an airline can sell for a flight.

WMUR:

New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan has cosponsored a new bill in response to the passenger being dragged off of the United flight.

The TICKETS Act calls for guarantees that a passenger already on board a plane will get to take the flight, unless they are a security or health risk. It also calls for more transparency on boarding procedures and requires flight crews that need accommodation to give more notice and check in at least an hour before a flight.

NECN:

New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan has introduced a bill that would guarantee a boarded passenger the right to fly. It is called the TICKETS Act, and it comes after that horrible incident on the United Airlines flight when a passenger was dragged off.

Senator Hassan: "This isn't the way we treat each other and it shouldn't be the way anyone is allowed to treat a member of the public who has paid good money to travel on an airline. It's just outrageous and it can't happen again and that's what I hope very much we'll be able to accomplish with this bill."

NHPR:

You're co-sponsoring a bill in reaction to the incident we saw recently where a United Airlines passenger was dragged off his flight. What would this bill do exactly?

I was outraged, as everybody who saw that video was, and what we want to make sure is that passengers have rights that respect the value of their ticket, respect them as individuals and human beings, and make sure that boarded passengers have the right to fly. The TICKETS Act would guarantee that a boarded passenger has the right to fly, unless there are security or health issues. It would provide fair compensation to ticket-holding travelers. So if they are denied boarding, the compensation for that inconvenience would be a realistic one and reflect the value of that travel and ticket to the passenger. It would improve transparency so that when you get your itinerary and your receipt, it states very clearly what the airline's policy is about overbooking and bumping people. It addresses problems with ticket overselling. It asks the Secretary of Transportation to look at the practice of overselling and see if we need to change the rules affecting that. And it requires flight crews seeking accommodations to provide more advance notice. All of these things are intended to make sure passengers know what the policies are, have rights when they're on the plane, and will help us take a look at the entire policy of overbooking. Airlines are making record profits right now, and there's just no excuse for what happened on that United flight.

Do you see some bipartisan support for this?

We are working and reaching out to members of both parties, and I know members of both parties are very concerned about what happened.

Union Leader: TICKETS

U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, is co-sponsoring a bill to guarantee passengers aboard a commercial aircraft retain their right to fly. The legislation stems from the United flight in which a passenger was dragged off the plane. TICKETS is the acronym for the bill: Transparency, Improvements, and Compensation to Keep Every Ticketholder Safe. It would include review of airline companies engaging in over-selling practices. Greater consumer protections are clearly needed, Hassan says. "This common-sense legislation will help prevent incidents like that from happening again and help ensure that travelers are treated with greater fairness and respect by the airlines industry," she said in a statement.

NH1: In wake of viral video, Hassan unveils 'common-sense' bill to beef up airline passengers rights

Sen. Maggie Hassan says a new bill she is co-sponsoring would try to bar airlines from involuntarily removing passengers once they've boarded a flight, and would attempt to eliminate the caps on compensation passengers may receive if they're involuntarily bumped.

Hassan, Schatz, and other senators sent a letter to United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz on April 11, asking for a more detailed account of the incident. The senators say they asked for a response by April 24, which they state United Airlines failed to provide.

Huffington Post: Senators Introduce Bill To Help Prevent Another United Flight Fiasco

A pair of Democratic lawmakers are introducing legislation that aims to prevent incidents like the one that occurred in Chicago, where a passenger was violently removed from a United Airlines flight after he refused to give up his seat for an airline employee.

"The horrifying incident on United Flight 3411 made clear that we need stronger consumer protections for the flying public," said Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), who introduced the bill along with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). "This common-sense legislation will help prevent incidents like that from happening again and help ensure that travelers are treated with greater fairness and respect by the airlines industry."

The Hill: Senate Dems back bill to boost airline consumer protections

A pair of Democrats on Wednesday introduced sweeping legislation to strengthen consumer protections for airline passengers in the latest congressional response to a man being violently dragged off a United Airlines flight earlier this month.

Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) unveiled a bill that would prohibit airlines from kicking customers off a plane after they have already boarded - unless it's a matter of safety or security - and eliminate the federal cap on the amount of compensation that airlines can offer passengers who are involuntarily bumped from a flight.

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