PRM case to be reviewed

An appeals court has revived a lawsuit against United Airlines.

The case was brought by a woman who claimed that she was not promptly provided with a wheelchair in an airport when she requested one. The opinion, from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, said that federal law did not pre-empt the woman’s personal injury claims under state law.

In an e-mail, a United spokeswoman said that the airline was strongly committed to providing equal treatment and quality service to its disabled customers.

Mark Meuser, an attorney for plaintiff Michelle Gilstrap, who has difficulty walking, said that some lower court judges had disagreed about whether individuals should be able to bring claims for damages suffered within an airport or on board an aircraft.

“This is a really big deal for disabled Americans across the country,” commented Mark Meuser.

Michelle Gilstrap experiences difficulty in walking because of a collapsed disc in her back and osteoarthritis. On two separate aircraft trips (in 2008 and 2009) she alleged that United failed to supply a wheelchair on some occasions. She has added that United agents apparently yelled at her, and expressed doubt over whether she really needed a wheelchair. Further, they ordered her to stand in a line, an action that was impossible because of her medical condition.

Michelle Gilstrap duly sued the carrier but a Los Angeles federal judge dismissed her case. In the above-mentioned ruling, the 9th Circuit said that Michelle Gilstrap could not pursue her claims under the Americans for Disabilities Act.

However, the court ruled that her state law claims, including emotional distress and negligence, were not pre-empted by the Air Carrier Access Act. The appeals court remanded the case for further proceedings.

Triple award for ASIG

ASIG has announced that three of its US airport refueling operations have received 2012 performance awards from Southwest Airlines. ASIG performs aircraft refueling and other airside handling services on behalf of Southwest Airlines at 20 airports across the US. Award metrics center on on-time performance, quality assurance and customer service (ie fuel accounting). Refueling operations are further classified by the number of flights handled, ranging from under 10,000 to more than 40,000 flights a year.

ASIG’s Sea-Tac International airport operation was named Fueler of the Year, Level 3 Operations (10,000 to 20,000 flights in a calendar year). ASIG’s Nashville International operation was named Most Improved Station and Super Fueler for Level 2 Operations (20,000 to 40,000 flights in a calendar year). A Super Fueler is an operation that has less than one flight delay per 5,000 flights fueled. Finally, ASIG’s Las Vegas refueling operation at McCarran International was also named Most Improved Station and Superior Performance for Level 1 Operations (over 40,000 flights a year).

Better baggage options for customers

United Airlines has expanded its new baggage delivery option, thereby enabling customers to circumvent baggage claims upon their arrival at the arrival airport and have their checked bags delivered directly to their final destinations, which can be up to 100 miles away.

Baggage Delivery by BagsVIP is now available to customers departing from any domestic airport and arriving in 36 cities. The airline says that it has plans to expand the service to more than 190 domestic airports in the fullness of time.

 

Alaska shares its success with workforce

Alaska Air Group has paid annual bonuses totaling almost a month’s pay to nearly 13,000 employees for exceeding the company’s 2012 operational and financial goals. The bonus, which is about 8% of annual pay, is in addition to the US$1,100 in bonuses, on average, that each employee earned last year for achieving monthly on-time and customer satisfaction targets. The combined monthly and annual bonuses amounted to nearly US$88m in all.

“We’re pleased to share the company’s financial success with our amazing employees at Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air,” Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden said in a statement. “Their teamwork and dedication to our customers are at the heart of our success. On behalf of the leadership team, I want to thank and congratulate our people for their outstanding efforts.”

FlightStats.com recently ranked Alaska Airlines the top, on-time major airline in North America for the third year in a row and JD Power and Associates has named the carrier as garnering highest levels of customer satisfaction amongst traditional network carriers for the fifth consecutive year in 2012.

More than US$42m in annual bonuses (62.4% of the total) is being paid to some 6,700 Alaska and Horizon employees in Washington state, with a further US$9m going to nearly 2,000 employees in the Portland, Oregon area. Around US$6.5m is to be paid to 1,580 workers in the state of Alaska while US$6.2m will be paid to some 1,470 employees working in California.