How DOT is trying to lessen airport headaches

Presented by Air Line Pilots Association Intl.: Delivered every Monday by 10 a.m., Weekly Transportation examines the latest news in transportation and infrastructure politics and policy.

Jul 11, 2022 View in browser   By Alex Daugherty Presented by With help from Oriana Pawlyk and Tanya Snyder   Quick fix — Secretary Pete Buttigieg says airlines are still not performing at an acceptable level and DOT is investigating how refunds are doled out after canceled flights. — The largest union for pilots on Friday filed its opposition against two regional airlines that are seeking an exemption to the required 1,500 hours of training for new pilots. — The House plans to vote this week on a bill that would preempt any state laws aiming to prohibit travel for the purpose of seeking an abortion. IT'S MONDAY: You're reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. As always, send tips, pitches, feedback and song lyrics to adaugherty@politico.com. You can find all of us on Twitter: @alextdaugherty, @TSnyderDC and @Oriana0214. "Throw two hacks attempting to chip it/Return of the bat crack/In a place called Camden."   The Women Rule series brings together rising stars, accomplished professionals, and women at the pinnacle of their careers to inform, empower and connect women across diverse sectors and career levels. Attendance to our quarterly in-person POLITICO Women Rule meetings, is by invitation-only. Join our interest list and learn more here.     Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. Driving the Day COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT: Ongoing summer flight woes, while better than they were over Memorial Day weekend, are pushing DOT to announce various measures to improve the airport experience. On Friday, the department published a notice urging airlines to seat families together during a flight without imposing fees, and on Sunday, Buttigieg said DOT has launched about 10 investigations into consumer complaints about airline refunds after canceled flights. "We've seen some improvement over the course of the summer but still not at an acceptable level in terms of performance, cancellations and delays," Buttigieg said on "Fox News Sunday ." "We'll collaborate with airlines when they're ready to take steps that are positive and proactive, whether that's improvements in pay that help with hiring or flexibility and customer service. We're also going to enforce passenger and consumer rights." NO TO OLDER PILOTS : Buttigieg said DOT has "just concluded another 10 investigations on airlines on [refund] issues and have launched another 10 or so that we're going to pursue to make sure consumers and passengers are protected." He also reiterated his position against raising the pilot retirement age to 67 from 65, an idea proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in response to staffing woes, saying it would compromise safety. "I'm not going to be on board with anything that compromises safety," Buttigieg said. "The answer is not to keep the baby boomer generation in the cockpit indefinitely." STICKING TOGETHER: DOT's Friday notice urges airlines to review their policies to ensure that children 13 and younger are seated next to an accompanying adult without fees, Oriana reports . DOT said that while the agency "receives a lower number of complaints from consumers about family seating than some other flight issues" there are still instances where kids — some as young as 11 months — are not seated next to a parent or guardian. Several lawmakers have pushed for families to sit together, including Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who in 2020 introduced S. 4335 (116). The bill, which had companion legislation in the House, didn't make it past committee. BILL OF FLIGHTS: In the same announcement, DOT unveiled its inaugural 10-point bill of rights for airline passengers who have either a physical or mental impairment as part of the department's efforts to make air travel more accessible and efficient for all. And DOT said it's added more staff to handle consumer complaints, which have skyrocketed in recent months. Aviation NO CUTTING: The largest union for pilots on Friday filed its opposition against petitions by two regional airlines asking the DOT to allow its pilots to fly before they have completed the required 1,500 hours of training, Oriana reports . The Air Line Pilots Association, which for months has been lobbying to stop others seeking changes to the rule, submitted its objections in the Federal Register against Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines, stating their petitions "would diminish pilot training qualification and experience requirements while putting passengers and small communities that depend on safe, scheduled air service at greater risk." Both petitions are still pending a formal FAA review. In April, Republic Airways filed a request for an exemption with the FAA asking that it be allowed to halve the requirement to 750 hours for its own pilot force. Then last month, SkyWest Airlines filed its own exemption request to operate charter flights using Bombardier CRJ jets with no more than 30 passengers, which would allow the airline to use pilots with fewer than 1,500 hours.   A message from Air Line Pilots Association Intl.: Hearing a lot about a pilot shortage? Don't believe it. Airlines are cutting service to improve profits and are blaming the cuts on a "pilot shortage." They've even suggested more savings by reducing safety training for pilots. In reality, there are 1.5 certified pilots for every pilot job. Don't let airlines put profits over passengers' safety. Get the facts about pilot supply.   On the Hill ERASING BORDERS: The House is set to vote this week on H.R. 8297 (117) , a bill that would preempt any state laws aiming to prohibit travel for the purposes of seeking an abortion. The bill would prevent someone acting under a state law from retaliating against someone traveling to state where abortion is legal to seek services. The bill is part of a larger effort by the Biden administration announced Friday in response to the Supreme Court's overturning Roe v. Wade. A BIG WEEK FOR RECONCILIATION?: Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine report that talks between Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) are "beginning to yield concrete results" on a potential climate, tax and prescription drugs package. But Manchin is reiterating his opposition to expanded subsidies for electric vehicle purchase as part of an energy spending package of about $300 billion. Manchin and Schumer are working toward legislation that provides roughly $1 trillion in new revenues, half of which would go toward deficit reduction and half of which would go toward energy and health spending. As always, the timing and details are in flux.   DON'T MISS DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED:  Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today.     Automobiles MD TRANSIT GROUP ALLEGES FRAUD IN TOLL LANE STUDY: The Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition, a statewide transit advocacy group, is sending a letter today to DOT alleging potential "scientific fraud" in the final environmental impact statement issued last month by FHWA and Maryland DOT for a project adding toll lanes to I-270 and I-495. The final EIS predicted that evening rush-hour travel times would improve dramatically with the addition of the new lanes, much more dramatically than in an earlier draft, but the number of vehicles predicted every hour is exactly the same in the two drafts. The coalition says these numbers violate "a basic principle of traffic modeling," which is that faster travel times induce more driving. They said traffic volumes on those segments of road "cannot stay the same, yet that is what the FEIS says." Monkey business? The transit group said the unusual traffic pattern forecast in the final EIS could only "arise from ad hoc alteration of model outputs for the purpose of generating a desired conclusion," and that there is no "other reasonable explanation of this pattern of changes in predicted traffic volumes from SDEIS to FEIS, and MDOT certainly has not offered any." The group pointed out what it saw as traffic modeling errors in October to FHWA Administrator Stephanie Pollack and is today asking Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg for "an independent examination" of the traffic modeling data. Economy THE LABOR SHORTAGE CONTINUES: The unemployment rate for transportation jobs was 2.1 percentage points lower in June than it was at the same time last year, but was still slightly higher than the overall unemployment rate of 3.8 percent. The June 2022 transportation unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, exactly where it was before the pandemic in June 2019. Unemployment in the transportation sector reached 15.7 percent in May 2020 and July 2020 due to the pandemic.   A message from Air Line Pilots Association Intl.:   Shifting Gears The Alliance for Automotive Innovation is adding Nick Steingart as director of state affairs and Ben Tesfazghi as director of federal affairs. Steingart most recently was director of state affairs at the National Automatic Merchandising Association. Tesfazghi most recently was senior manager of legislative affairs at the National Automobile Dealers Association. (h/t Daniel Lippman) The Autobahn — "The Uber Files." International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. — "Pregnant woman says her fetus should count as a passenger in HOV lanes. She got a ticket." Dallas Morning News. — "ICYMI: Spirit postpones Frontier deal vote, to continue talks with Frontier and JetBlue." Reuters. — "Emirates aircraft flies from Dubai to Australia with a gaping hole in its side." USA Today. — "Israel: EL Al to restore pilots wages to pre-pandemic level." i24. — "Virginia expands train service with two new Amtrak round trips." The Washington Post. — "Canada's slow and troubled path to rapid transit." The New York Times. — "'A one-hour layover is not enough anymore': A flight attendant's tips on surviving travel now." The New York Times. On the calendar 2 p.m. — Brookings Metro holds a virtual event on state legislators and the future of transportation. Did we miss an event? Let MT know at transpocalendar@politicopro.com.    A message from Air Line Pilots Association Intl.: Airlines have invented a "pilot shortage" to justify cost cutting service reductions to smaller communities across the country. Airline profits are being prioritized over passenger service. The fact is America has 1.5 certified pilots for every pilot job. That's more than enough. But now airlines are recommending cuts to essential pilot safety training – just to put more pilots in service. This is the same training that has reduced airline fatalities by 99.8% since they were increased in 2010. There is no pilot shortage—don't be fooled. Proper training and diligence will maintain air travel's record as the safest mode of transportation. Get the facts about pilot supply.     Follow us on Twitter Kathryn Wolfe @kathrynwolfe Alex Daugherty @alextdaugherty Oriana Pawlyk @Oriana0214 Tanya Snyder @tsnyderdc   Follow us

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