The Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined Allegiant
Air $250,000 and Hawaiian Airlines $125,000 for violations of consumer-protection rules.
In a consent order issue Friday, the DOT concluded that
between 2013 and 2015, there were numerous instances in which Allegiant failed
to provide adequate and timely wheelchair assistance to passengers, as required
under U.S. law.
The department also concluded that Allegiant failed in many
cases between 2013 and 2015 to refund credit card for cancelled flights within
the required seven days. The cancellations in question occurred when passengers
realized that they didn't have to pay airfare for children under age 2.
Allegiant has not admitted to the violations, but signed the
consent order to avoid litigation.
Also in a consent order Friday, the DOT found that Hawaiian
failed to properly report complaints it received from passengers in 2015 about
damage to disability-related assistive devices.
The DOT also said that in 2015 and 2016 Hawaiian violated
regulations governing the reporting and handling of instances in which
passengers are involuntarily bumped from a flight.
Hawaiian says it has corrected the problems through revamped
internal reporting and training procedures, according to the consent order.