California passes passengers' rights bill for airline delays

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kate Hanni decided to fight back after being forced to endure an agonizing nine hours inside a cramped airplane waiting for takeoff — and California lawmakers are siding with her.

Legislation sparked by Hanni's misadventure was passed by the California Assembly on Thursday to ensure that passengers have food, water, light, air and working bathrooms when stuck on a plane grounded for three hours or more.

"When you don't know how long you're going to be held on an aircraft, it's pretty hard to advocate for yourself," Hanni said.

Federal statistics documented 1,561 flights last year that were boarded, then delayed for more than three hours before takeoff. The figures do not include flights that were canceled after long delays, or planes that held passengers for long periods after landing at their destination.

Hanni applauded the Assembly's 54-16 vote, saying it recognizes that passengers are virtually powerless once an airplane's doors close.

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said his Assembly Bill 1943 does not place unreasonable demands on airlines.

"It's a bill about human dignity and respect," Leno said.

Opponents argued that only the federal government, not states, have a legal right to regulate airline rates, routes, service and safety.

"It's a feel-good nuisance that does nothing, and worse yet, it's a violation of federal law," Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, said of AB 1943.

A similar New York law was struck down recently by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

But some Republican lawmakers in California supported the measure.

"In the rural areas, we believe in spanking," said Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore. "And this is a time we should spank the airlines."

Leno said his bill is narrowly crafted to survive judicial scrutiny, targeting passengers' health, which is a legal obligation of state government.

"If we need to defend this if it becomes law, so be it," Leno said.

Opponents of AB 1943 included the California Chamber of Commerce and the Air Transport Association, representing numerous airlines.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken no position on the measure.

Dan Hagan, a spokesman for American Airlines, said the firm does not object to providing — and routinely supplies — basic necessities to stranded customers. But it cannot support creation of state-by-state standards that invite litigation.

"People who are engaged in interstate commerce need to be regulated by the federal government," he said.

Hanni, testifying before the Assembly Transportation Committee last month, said her family spent nine hours and 17 minutes aboard a grounded American Airlines flight in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 29, 2006.

"We were on the plane with overflowing toilets, no food, no potable water and no communication from the pilot," Hanni said.

A Napa real estate agent, Hanni, 47, fought back against the airlines by creating a consumer group, Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights, that is pushing for federal standards.