Thu, Aug 11, 2011
Aviation Advantage And Swift Air Subject To Enforcement
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The
U.S. DOT has levied fines against two companies for violating the
Department’s rules governing charter flights. Aviation
Advantage, Inc. (AAI) was assessed a civil penalty of $150,000 and
Swift Air, LLC was assessed a civil penalty of $100,000. “Air
travelers using charter services have rights, just as those using
scheduled airlines do,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood said in a statement Tuesday. “We will take enforcement
action if our rules protecting the rights of charter passengers are
violated.”
The Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office found that
AAI, a public charter operator, advertised flights in 2009 without
listing the name of the charter operator or the airline operating
the flights, as required by DOT rules. The advertisements also
violated DOT regulations by failing to disclose that passengers
would have to sign an operator-participant contract. Also, in 2010,
AAI sold tickets for public charter flights and operated the
flights without obtaining necessary authority from the Department.
The company also violated DOT rules by using Capital Airways, an
aircraft operator that did not hold the required commercial
license, for a number charter flights in 2010. The Department fined
Capital Airways $175,000 in January for operating and marketing
charter flights without required authority.
The Department fined Swift Air for cancelling a public charter
flight on June 17, 2011, minutes before its scheduled departure.
Under the Department’s rules, a charter operator may not
cancel a public charter flight less than 10 days before scheduled
departure unless it is physically impossible to operate the flight.
The carrier had been aware for nearly a month of compliance
concerns raised by the Federal Aviation Administration and should
have known it might not be able to operate the flight, the
Department found. The entire charter program was canceled,
affecting hundreds of consumers’ plans.
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