Poor airline service? Former C.B.S. mayor says a passenger bill of rights could fix that

A former mayor of Conception Bay South is once again calling for a passenger bill of rights to be established for Canada's airline industry.

Woodrow French has lobbied for a passenger bill of rights since 2008, and he believes that it's time for a law to be passed to ensure a standard level of service across the entire airline industry.

"I've heard, certainly, horror stories," he told the St. John's Morning Show on Monday.

"One that was going around on social media yesterday was the fact that somebody's family was delayed on the tarmac for over four hours and the passengers included a two year old child."

A passenger bill of rights would create regulations for things like the amount of time passengers are allowed to be stranded on a tarmac, and what compensation they are entitled to for hotels and food if flights are cancelled.

French said Canadian airlines currently do the minimum they can to accommodate people, and that the guidelines in place are interpreted differently by each of the airlines.

"The level of service that you're going to get can certainly vary from something you're going to be totally, totally upset with or something that's not going to be too bad," he said.

French believes that a passenger bill of rights would help ensure that no customer is mistreated by the airlines. 

Spearheaded bill in 2008

French said his call for airlines to do more really comes down to one thing — he wants to see customers respected and not left to their own devices if something happens during their routine travels.

"It's not asking for anything over and above, just talking about good customer service. It's basically what it's all about," he said.

While French spearheaded a private members bill in the House of Commons in 2008 to introduce a passenger bill of rights, the bill eventually stalled out.

He said that for a passenger bill of rights to become a reality today, more work needs to be done... and he can't do it alone. 

"I'm at the stage right now, that I've taken it a fair distance, and now the program needs to be re-jigged," he said. 

"It certainly can't be a one man show, I just don't have the time to be able to handle what needs to be done for the next level."