“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a trajectory like I’ve seen in the last year or so at the DOT,” said McGee… “I’ve never seen any sort of department or public official turn things around so quickly and so decisively.” https://t.co/LoCjWF0DPf
— Zev Karlin-Neumann (@zkarlinn) May 13, 2024
From the Washington Post, “Pete Buttigieg’s view from the middle seat” [gift link]:
… Like all road warriors, Buttigieg has strong feelings about air travel: who gets the elbow space, his preferred window shade position (up), whether it’s acceptable to recline (yes) and the best in-flight snacks (stroopwafel).
But his strongest feeling — backed by a flurry of new policies, rule proposals and pressure campaigns — is that airlines have gotten a pass from regulators and need to do better by passengers.
“On one hand, flying is a miracle, and it’s an extraordinary thing that we’re able to do,” he said, in a car that whisked him from Denver International Airport. “But it’s also true that it’s become more and more frustrating in many ways. And the airlines aren’t going to fix that on their own; they need to be pushed.”
As the nation’s top transportation official, Buttigieg has responsibilities beyond air travel: He has responded to backlogs at California ports, a train derailment in Ohio and the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. But between the pandemic, airline meltdowns, air-traffic-controller shortages and Boeing safety concerns, he’s overseen an unusually tumultuous stretch of aviation history. And he knows the time for his agenda is running out.
In interviews, announcements and public speeches over the past few months, Buttigieg has challenged airlines with an urgency driven by the calendar. Whatever the outcome of the presidential election, he said he plans to “sprint” to the finish line.
The prize he eyes? “I really want this to be known as the period when we did the biggest expansion in passenger rights since deregulation, and I think we can hit that mark,” he said…
Readership Capture: <em>Pete Buttigieg’s View from the Middle Seat</em>Post + Comments (102)
