항공 업계의 과제와 정부의 대응 개요

### 항공사의 과제 해결 승객 경험 개선을 위한 정부의 노력
* ✈ 내레이터는 수하물 분실, 항공편 지연 및 취소와 같은 비행과 관련된 일반적인 두려움을 표현하지만 **연방 정부가 상황을 개선하기 위한 조치**를 취하고 있음을 언급합니다.
* 📉 2022년 12월, 사우스웨스트 항공은 **연말연시에 17,000편의 항공편을 취소**하고 **2백만 명의 승객을 발이 묶는 등 큰 고장**을 겪으며 항공 업계의 지속적인 문제를 부각시켰습니다.
* 📜 1978년 항공 산업에 대한 규제 완화는 경쟁을 촉진하고 가격을 낮추는 것을 목표로 했지만, 현재 **소수의 주요 항공사가 시장의 약 70%를 장악**하면서 서비스 품질이 저하되는 결과를 초래했습니다.
* 🏢 바이든 행정부는 이전에 항공사가 바우처 발행을 통해 회피했던 **취소되거나 크게 지연된 항공편에 대한 자동 현금 환불**을 포함한 새로운 규정을 시행하기 위해 나서고 있습니다.
* 💵 또한 새로운 규정에 따라 항공사는 **Wi-Fi나 좌석 선택 등 제공되지 않은 서비스에 대해 승객에게 환불을 의무화**하여 소비자가 환불받을 수 있도록 보장해야 합니다.
* 🛑 교통부는 또한 항공사가 모든 수수료를 미리 공개하도록 하여 소비자가 항공편을 예약할 때 더 많은 정보를 바탕으로 비교할 수 있도록 함으로써 **'정크 수수료' 문제**를 해결하고 있습니다.
* 👨 제안된 규정에는 **부모가 추가 요금 없이 13세 미만 자녀의 옆자리에 앉을 수 있도록** 하고, 항공사별 가족 친화 정책을 비교할 수 있는 대시보드가 포함되어 있습니다.
* ⚠ 이러한 노력에도 불구하고 인력 부족과 높은 운영 비용 등 항공 업계에는 여전히 심각한 문제가 남아 있어 **개선이 이루어지고 있지만 더 많은 구조적 변화**가 필요한 것으로 나타났습니다.

항공 업계는 규제 완화와 승객 경험보다 수익 우선주의로 인해 고객 서비스에 어려움을 겪고 있습니다.

Narrator: Whenever I book a flight, I sort of play through a sliding scale of unfortunate scenarios. I worry that my bag will get lost, or that my flight will be delayed, or maybe it'll just be canceled altogether. The good news is that help may be on the way. The federal government is making some decent efforts to make flying suck a little less. Over the past few years, there have been some pretty high-profile airline meltdowns. So in 2022, Southwest had this giant breakdown, and about 17,000 flights were canceled, and 2 million passengers were stranded. And this was in December, during the holiday season. So there's no one reason why airline travel sucks so much. But an important thing to look back on is that the airline industry was deregulated in 1978 under Jimmy Carter. So before that, the government regulated airlines. They thought it was an essential service. They kind of controlled how much airlines could charge.

Then, in the '70s, there was a movement to deregulate the airlines. The idea was that there would be more competition and prices would go down. To some extent, that's true. Once the airlines were deregulated, a bunch of new entrants jumped in. Prices did go down, but also the level of service has really changed. Narrator: Business Insider's Emily Stewart has spoken with airline experts to help uncover the reasons for hiccups in the industry. We've also seen a lot of waves of consolidation of the airlines. So while there may be a lot of airlines, only a handful of airlines really kind of rule the industry. Narrator: And that's Delta, American, United, and Southwest. They control about 70% of the industry. So as much as it feels competitive, it's not. They kind of can do whatever they want in terms of booking, in terms of prices.

They've also created these hubs that make it really hard for airlines to compete. You maybe experienced this in real life, where, let's say you're going to a smaller location, and you have to fly through this hub that's way out of the way. And part of that is because of deregulation. Narrator: When airlines are left to their own devices, they don't always do what's best for their customers. Ultimately, they're for-profit companies. They answer to shareholders, and what that means is that they want to make as much money for their shareholders as they can, not necessarily that they want to provide the best experience for their passengers. We probably need big structural change, I think, to really fix the airlines. But there is some help on the way right now, with the Biden administration really trying to step in here and say, Hey, airlines, you guys have screwed up a little bit too much. Now, we have to be in charge a little bit more.

Narrator: This is sort of an ongoing cycle with airlines throughout their history. They screw up, consumers complain, and finally the government says, OK, we'll hop in and do something. So kind of the biggest thing that the Department of Transportation has done is to implement this new rule around cash refunds. Narrator: What it basically says is, let's say you book a flight and it gets canceled, or it's significantly delayed by many hours, or it's significantly changed by many hours. The airlines have to issue an automatic refund, and they have to do it in cash or credit card. Before, what a lot of them were doing was issuing you a voucher. And that kind of sticks you into a loop with an airline that maybe you're mad at, right? You are on a Delta flight, it gets canceled, you get a voucher, suddenly you have to keep flying Delta. And maybe you saw an American flight

that would get you to your destination, and you can't take that flight without spending more money. Narrator: That rule also has a stipulation about returning money on airline services. So let's say you pay for Wi-Fi and plane Wi-Fi doesn't work, or you pay for a seat and the seat is not available. The airline has to give you your money back. Congress also included this in legislation, specifically on the refunds on flight cancellation or delay. The airline industry honestly says that they're OK with the refunds thing. They say, We actually already do this a lot, and we're on board. Narrator: It's important to note that they are still sometimes issuing vouchers when they can. Over the summer, some of them got caught doing that, and the Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, issued a statement saying that they could no longer do that. So another rule that the DOT is trying to put through

is one that is directed at junk fees, which is what the Biden administration calls it. That pertains to stuff like checking baggage or changing your reservation or buying a seat. And they're not saying that airlines can't charge these fees, but what they're saying is that they have to be honest about those fees up front. The reason they're saying that is, if I am booking a flight, and let's be honest, most of us are booking the cheapest flight that we can find, I'm trying to compare prices. Narrator: And when the prices aren't put up front, it's hard to compare prices the right way. Maybe you see a flight for $200, but by the time you get through all the fees, it's $350. You would've been better off booking a different flight. The airline industry does not like this rule. They're actually challenging it in court, and right now, it is caught up in the courts.

What they say is that it's really kind of outside of the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation, and they also say it will confuse consumers. Narrator: Basically, what their case is, is if a customer is on a travel website and looking at all the fees, they'll be too confused to be able to compare all the prices and understand what's going on. Honestly, you have to figure there's some sort of design fix for this. It can't be that hard, and it can't be that confusing, just to tell me, Hey, this flight does not include a bag even on the flight. And if you want to bring a bag with you, it's going to be an extra $40. So that, again, is kind of caught up in the courts right now. And you also have to remember there are elections coming up. And the Department of Transportation is moving pretty quickly right now to get a lot of rules in place.

But if there is a change in administration, it's not entirely clear where some of this stuff will end up. Narrator: The DOT has also proposed a rule on parents sitting next to their children. Parents won't be charged to sit next to their kids who are 13 and younger. Some airlines already do this, but not all of them. And, you know, I think it's fairly understandable for parents who have a kid who is 5 or 8 or 11 to want to sit next to their kid and not just hope that a kind stranger on the plane will switch seats with them. Narrator: The rule has been proposed, and it hasn't been finalized yet. But the airline industry does point out that some airlines already do this, and all of them say that they make their best effort to seat families together. The DOT put together a dashboard that helps people compare different service fees across airlines. It tells you which companies

let families sit together for free or rebook for free if there's a delay or cancellation that's within the airline's control. This obviously doesn't fix all of flying. Even for people who are super informed about their rights, it doesn't stop airlines from trying to hand over a voucher or charging a bunch of confusing fees. Narrator: There are still plenty of problems with flying. For example, the FAA is short thousands of traffic controllers, and that affects scheduling as well as safety. And then there is a litany of other issues. The airport is super expensive, security lines can be long. You know, a lot of these changes that the Biden administration has made are kind of nice on the margins, right? I don't think anybody will argue with the idea that they'd like to understand fees a little bit better or that they should get their money back if they don't get on a plane. Narrator: At the same time,

We probably need some more structural changes, and that doesn't look like it's on the menu anytime soon.

Air Travel Sucks More Than Ever, Now The Government Is Trying To Fix It | Business Insider Explains

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내레이터는 가방 분실, 항공편 취소 등 비행에 대한 일반적인 걱정을 표현하고 상황을 개선하기 위한 정부의 노력을 언급합니다.

1978년 항공업계의 규제 완화로 인해 가격은 낮아졌지만 서비스 품질은 떨어졌습니다.

현재 델타, 아메리칸, 유나이티드, 사우스웨스트 등 몇몇 주요 항공사가 업계의 약 70%를 장악하고 있어 진정한 경쟁이 줄어들고 있습니다.

항공사 규제 완화와 정부 개입의 영향

항공사 허브는 경쟁을 어렵게 만들어 여행객들이 종종 외곽 노선을 이용하도록 강요합니다.

영리 동기로 인해 항공사는 고객 경험보다 주주 이익을 우선시하게 됩니다.

바이든 행정부는 항공사의 책임을 묻고 고객 만족도를 개선하기 위해 취소되거나 크게 지연된 항공편에 대한 자동 현금 환불에 대한 새로운 규정을 마련하고 있습니다.

항공 업계 환불 및 정크 수수료

항공사는 Wi-Fi 또는 좌석 예약과 같이 제공되지 않은 서비스에 대해 고객에게 환불해야 합니다.

미국 교통부는 고객에게 명확한 선불 요금을 제공하기 위해 항공 요금의 투명성을 높이고자 노력하고 있습니다.

항공 업계는 이 규정이 기존 관행과 상충된다며 법정에서 이의를 제기하고 있습니다.

항공사를 위한 교통부의 제안된 규정

미국 교통부(DOT)는 여행 웹사이트 요금이 소비자에게 혼란을 줄 수 있다는 비판에 직면해 있습니다.

교통부는 추가 요금 없이 부모가 13세 미만 어린이 옆자리에 앉을 수 있도록 하는 규정을 제안하고 있습니다.

교통부는 항공사별 서비스 요금을 비교할 수 있는 대시보드도 만들었지만, 아직 확정된 규칙은 없습니다.

항공 여행과 관련된 지속적인 문제

이제 항공사들은 통제할 수 있는 범위 내에서 지연이나 취소가 발생할 경우 가족이 함께 앉을 수 있는 무료 좌석과 무료 재예약을 허용하고 있습니다.

이러한 변화에도 불구하고 관제사 부족, 비싼 공항 요금, 긴 보안 검색대 등 비행에는 여전히 많은 문제가 있습니다.

투명성과 고객 서비스를 개선하려는 바이든 행정부의 노력은 높이 평가할 만하지만, 더 큰 구조적 변화가 필요하지만 곧 이루어질 것 같지는 않습니다.