A three-month-old comment from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has brought forth renewed skepticism in the wake of massive flight cancellations from U.S. major air carriers, including Southwest Airlines.
While appearing on CBS' "The Late Late Show" with host James Corden in September, Buttigieg assured the audience that airline travel would improve by the holiday season.
"I think [airline travel] will get better by the holidays. We're really pressing the airlines to deliver better service. So many people have been delayed, been canceled. It has happened to me," said Buttigieg, a former Democratic Party presidential candidate in 2020.
The September statement on late-night TV came on the heels of the U.S. Department of Transportation reportedly receiving a bipartisan letter from 38 state attorneys general, demanding the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) implement more resources to fix the delay problems with flights.
For his TV interview, Buttigieg pledged that airline transportation would run smoother come Christmas.
"The good news is people are going back to the skies. They have the income. They have the inclination. We've put off holidays [due to the COVID-19 pandemic], we've put off trips for two years, we're finally doing it again, which is great. But, we need to make sure that the system is ready," said Buttigieg.
The transportation secretary added: "If you've ever been mistreated by an airline, if they haven't given you the refund they owe you, if they haven't lived up to their customer service obligations, we will have your back."
A recent piece from The Lever deduced that federal officials "share equal blame" for the airline cancellations throughout 2022 — and that proverbial buck stopped with Buttigieg and the Biden White House.
Also, The Lever noted that a number of Buttigieg public's predictions — including those on his James Corden TV appearance — haven't materialized in recent months.
The publication referenced how the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP), an anti-monopoly think tank, claimed the USDOT had yet to issue a single fine against the airlines.
"The Department of Transportation has announced a rule on refunds that won't take effect for at least 2-3 years, sent the airline CEOs a letter, and promised to unveil an information dashboard," wrote AELP.
"It has yet to fine any U.S. airline a single dollar for unpaid refunds, flight cancellations, or systematic violations of consumer protection law, and has issued fewer enforcement orders in 2021 than in any single year of the Trump and Obama administrations," AELP added.
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