A 10-Point Guide To Airline Complaints
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Last Updated: April 20, 2008
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When you have a legitimate complaint with airline service, don't fuss and fume. Take action. Here's a 10-point primer on turning your anger into an effective complaint.
Think the instance through and make sure you have been wronged by
the airline.
 You can't hold an airline accountable for weather (though
you can expect fair treatment in the case of cancellations and delays).
Most security complaints should be addressed to the Transportation
Security Administration.
Try to resolve the situation as soon as it occurs, asking for
supervisory personnel, if necessary.
If your problem isn't resolved to your satisfaction, take the
time to write down names, times and an outline of what happened. This
will help you write your letter of complaint.
Try to determine if your complaint relates to an airline
violating the law, violating its own contract of carriage or simply
engaging in poor customer service. For a good explanation of contract of
carriage provisions, click here.
Complain by letter sent via U.S. Post. Phone complaints are almost
a waste of time. E-mail responses are getting better but generally, a
U.S. mail letter carries more weight. Keep a copy of your letter and any
supporting documentation you provided. Never send an original boarding
pass, receipt or other one-of-a-kind documentation.
Stay calm and factual in your letter and be as brief as details
allow.
Outline your importance to the airline -- frequent flyer status,
average number of trips flown per year, influence in a company with a
high level of travel or any other factor the airline can read in dollars
and cents.
If you know what you want in return for the airline's failure to
serve you as it should, ask for it. Requesting 10,000 free miles or a
free roundtrip may not happen, but it helps illustrate that you are
serious about requesting compensation -- and you may even get what you
ask for.
Copy your letter to the Department of Transportation, Aviation
Consumer Protection Division, 400 7th Street SW, Room 4107, Washington,
DC 20590 and the Aviation Consumer Action Project, P.O. Box 19029, 589
14th Street NW, Suite 1265, Washington, DC 20036. If your complaint is
of serious nature (relating to safety or a violation of federal laws for
disabled travelers, for example), copy your Senator and/or your chosen
member of the Senate Transportation Committee.
If you do not receive a response within 30 days, re-send your
material by certified mail, copying the same organizations.
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