What Could Go Wrong? Obama Now Telling Airlines How to Do Business

There's no part of the U.S. economy this guy isn't going after. Now the Obama Administration now is telling the airlines how to run their business.

"Everybody that has flown regularly has a horror story," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said on a conference call with reporters about a proposed regulation tightening consumer protections for air travelers.

LaHood said the changes were prompted by complaints from consumers.

The major airlines said through their trade group, the Air Transport Association, that they would evaluate the proposals but want to ensure a viable industry and do not want to inconvenience passengers.

The centerpiece of the measure, which could take effect later this year if finalized by regulators, is a proposal to increase the potential compensation for passengers when involuntarily bumped from flights that are oversold.

Payments would rise from a maximum of $800, depending on whether the service is domestic or overseas and the timing of the next scheduled flight, to $1,300.

More than 23,000 of the 135 million passengers scheduled to fly on 18 major U.S. carriers between January and March of 2010 were involuntarily bumped from their flight, according to data reported by carriers to the government.

The figure was 6,000 more than the year-ago period.

The administration's plan would also expand its runway delay program to overseas airlines, making them comply with the same requirements as domestic counterparts for ground delays exceeding three hours.

In an attempt to cut the longest delays following a series of embarrassing incidents, the administration in April required airlines to let passengers return to the gate in some circumstances.

The rule included strict disclosure requirements for the worst delays, which have dropped sharply over the past year from a high of 278 in 2009.

The proposal comes as the spring and summer travel season is just beginning, with more delays expected as airline schedules are fuller and seasonal thunderstorms likely to hit the U.S. Midwest and Northeast.

Officials also want each U.S. and foreign airline to disclose checked bag fees on e-ticket confirmations, post any fee increase on its Web home page and provide an Internet link to a page displaying all optional fees that passengers may be charged.

This is amazingly ironic and nervy.

The very same administration that is spending trillions of your tax dollars like drunken sailors on shore leave with little accounting for it, that are giving stimulus money to people in zip codes that don't exist for projects that are not being done, that double and triple count the same job in their "jobs saved or created" fictional number, that is documented as trying to buy off political candidates to get them out of elections is now telling the airlines how to run their business.

Is there no end to the amazing gall of these socialists? And so far I see not a single Obama worshiping MSM entity with the integrity to point out this irony.

In short, my suggestion to the socialist Obama administration is that they should focus their attention on getting the economy thing figured out and maybe get their staff to stop trying to buy folks off before they try to tell anyone else how to do run their own business.

Also, just who do they think is going to end up paying for the increase in bumping fees from $800 to $1,300? The flying public will, that's who. Yet Obama will try to claim credit for getting you more money for being bumped.

What a joke these people in the White House are.