Commercial Aviation Today

You may have heard of frequent flyer programs, where participants earn points which award free airfares and benefits not available otherwise. But did you know that you do not have to actually fly in an airplane to earn these rewards?

There are many credit card companies today which offer customers the benefit of frequent flyer points. These credit cards have a special partnership with designated airline companies, awarding points to consumers based on certain types of purchases, cash advances, or other transactions. By making regular, everyday purchases, cardholders receive additional points. Different cards will offer different benefits or incentives. Participating cardholders commonly earn one or two free airline tickets every year.

Airline frequent flyer rewards credit cards come in two distinctive types. The first type of card is issued through an affiliated airline carrier, and is a good option for those who travel often. These cards are also wonderful for those who fly regularly for business purposes. If you have a tendency to use different airlines, or if you do not travel often, then you would be wise to choose the second type of card, which awards all-inclusive points. With this type of card, you will be allowed to use your frequent flyer points for travel on any airline, rather than being obligated to any one particular airline company.

After years of tight government control over the airline industry, Congress chose to pursue a policy of economic deregulation, enacting the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (ADA). Areas formerly controlled by the federal government, such as the awarding of routes, the entry of new air carriers, and the setting of fares, were left to the airlines and the free market to determine. Congress, concerned that States might attempt to circumvent federal airline deregulation through their own state enforcement actions, included an express preemption clause in the ADA, which bars States from enforcing laws “related to a price, route, or service of an air carrier.” This apparently innocuous provision continues to cause confusion and divide courts over exactly what causes of action are preempted by the ADA.

Top-ranked Chicago personal injury attorney, Matthew A. Passen, examines one class of state-law based actions, intentional tort claims, and considers whether such actions are sufficiently “related to” an airline “service” for preemption under the ADA. For example, can a passenger who was refused boarding on a commercial airline and strapped to an immobile chair in the waiting area sue the airline for false imprisonment? Can a passenger detained by airline employees upon landing of an aircraft, wrongfully accused of stealing another passenger’s ring, and arrested by police, seek recourse against the airline for false arrest, intentional infliction of emotional distress or slander? Can an airline racially discriminate against a passenger or airline employee with impunity?

As the following discussion reveals, the answer to these questions often depends entirely on how broad or narrow courts interpret the ADA’s statutory phrase, “related to a . . . service of an air carrier.” If a narrow reading is adopted, plaintiffs will have their day in court. If, on the other hand, a court interprets the preemption provision broadly, airlines will essentially receive immunity from state-law intentional tort actions.

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1. Austrian Airlines’ Origins

Austrian Airline’s genesis can be traced back to March 20, 1918, at which time the Austrian Postal Administration had inaugurated daily scheduled mail service from Vienna to Kiew with intermediate stops in Krakow, Lwow, and Proskurow, a route whose average stage length had been 250 kilometers. When space had permitted, passengers had also been carried. The highly successful, punctual service was later extended from Proskurow to Odessa and from Vienna to Budapest. However, a flight prohibition, implemented at the end of World War I, had resulted in its termination.