@ISIDEWITHQuestionstransportationStarted 10mos agoActive 2wks ago

Should the government regulate airline frequent flier programs?

In September 2024 the U.S. Transportation Department began an investigation into U.S. airline’s frequent flier programs. The department's inquiry centers on practices that it describes as potentially unfair, deceptive or anti-competitive, with a focus on four areas: changes to the value of points that the agency said can make it more expensive to book tickets using rewards; lack of fare transparency through dynamic pricing; fees for redeeming and transferring rewards; and reduction in competition among programs due to airline mergers.  “These rewards are controlled by…  

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 18.8k America voters.

32%
Yes
68%
No
32%
Yes
68%
No

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @9ZRT2QM from New Jersey  answered…7mos7MO

No, the government should only have an overseeing role regarding frequent flier programs as to not take away from the autonomy of the airlines, but still ensuring transparent and fair frequent flier systems.

 @9TTJ42B from North Carolina  answered…10mos10MO

There shouldn't be a rewards program, period. It insinuates that they care more about people who fly regularly than ones that don't. It inherently shows their bias, that being their greed for money.

 @B5X32CW from California  answered…2wks2W

no let airlines determine the price for their tickets. More cost friendly and efficient air lines will attract more customers

 @83BYVHG  from Alabama  answered…8mos8MO

Yes, they should overhaul the airline sector as a whole. Airlines should not be able to nickel and dime customers to death for every little thing, nor should they be able to oversell flights

 @9W6FVKQ from Texas  answered…9mos9MO

Not regulate, per se. But, there should be rules set in place, so practices are fair to those who've earned points.

 @B5RT93J from Alaska  answered…4wks4W

No this is a marketing strategy used by airlines so it should be well understood that it benefits the airlines more than the frequent flier member. Individuals should be able to decide their own risk tolerances and weigh their personal risks and benefits when choosing to participate. Remember these programs are voluntary.

 @B4RTFSC from Texas  answered…3mos3MO

Yes, but this could be easily solved by ensuring the company honors the benefits by giving the equivalent value in points once change has been made for program.

 @B425TCL from Missouri  answered…4mos4MO

Not for completely private airlines, unless there is evidence of corruption, discrimination, or nepotism. The government should do so if the airline benefits from government subsidies

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…8mos8MO

Europe on Edge as Critical Cables Severed Near Nord Stream Blast Zone

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Tuesday said "nobody believes" that two broken telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea were "accidentally cut.""We have to conclude, without knowing exactly who did it, that it is a hybrid action and we also have to assume — without knowing it — that it is sabotage," Pistorius told reporters in Brussels on the sidelines of a Council of the European Union meeting.The Finnish network company Cinia said Monday it was investigating a broken undersea internet cable running between Santahamina near Helsinki and Rostock in Germany — in a submarine incident that sparked political alarm in Berlin and Helsinki.The 1,173 kilometer-long cable follows a similar route to the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream gas pipelines, which exploded in September 2022 in an apparent act of sabotage.Also speaking on the sidelines of the meeting in Brussels, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said: “We are now investigating what has happened. We have good capabilities through all of this to investigate what has happened and who has been there.”Finland’s Europe Minister Joakim Strand called the incident "concerning.""Our authorities together with the companies are proactively investigating the case. The telecommunications have been re-routed to back-up connections and practical impacts have been minimal. The cable of course will be repaired. It is too soon to speculate on any causes but of course this is concerning," he added.The suspected case of sabotage comes as European foreign ministers, meeting in Warsaw on Tuesday, warned that Russia is “systematically attacking” Europe’s security architecture.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…8mos8MO

Horror in Northern Gaza: U.S. Questions Israel After Civilians Slaughtered in Residential Attack

An Israeli strike on a residential building in northern Gaza killed dozens of people early Tuesday, the territory’s emergency service said, in the latest attack to cause mass casualties in the area since Israel renewed its offensive against Hamas in the north.The Palestinian Civil Defense, the emergency service, said at least 55 people were killed in the strike in the town of Beit Lahia. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 93 people were dead, including 25 children. The Israeli military said in a statement that it was “aware of reports that civilians were harmed” in the town and was looking into the details.Matt Miller, a U.S. State Department spokesman, called the strike “a horrifying incident with a horrifying result” and said the Biden administration had contacted the Israeli government to ask what happened.Israeli forces renewed their offensive in northern Gaza this month, saying they were trying to stem a regrouping of Hamas, the militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza.The strike comes days after another Israeli attack on a residential block in Beit Lahia that left dozens of people killed or wounded, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense. The Israeli military confirmed the strike on Sunday, saying that the air force had “conducted a precise strike” targeting Hamas fighters.An overnight Israeli airstrike hit another residential building in the town on Oct. 20, killing dozens of people, Palestinian officials and emergency workers said.Roughly 400,000 people remain in northern Gaza, according to the United Nations, and many have been trapped in their ruined neighborhoods.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…8mos8MO

Death, Denial, and Silence: Inside China’s Push to Bury Zhuhai’s Devastating SUV Attack

Outside the sports center in the southern city of Zhuhai where a 62-year-old man had plowed an S.U.V. into a crowd, killing at least 35 people, workers on Wednesday quickly removed bouquets of flowers left by grieving residents. Uniformed police officers and officials in plainclothes shooed away bystanders and warned them not to take photos. At hospitals where patients were taken after the attack — at least 43 more people were injured — local officials sat outside the intensive care units, blocking journalists from speaking with family members.On the Chinese internet, censors were mobilized to delete videos, news articles and commentaries about the attack. Almost 24 hours had passed before officials divulged details about the assault, which happened on Monday, including the death toll. Their statement offered limited details, and they have held no news conferences.The response was a precise enactment of the Chinese government’s usual playbook after mass tragedies: Prevent any nonofficial voices, including eyewitnesses and survivors, from speaking about the event. Spread assurances of stability. Minimize public displays of grief.The goal is to stifle potential questions and criticism of the authorities, and force the public to move on as quickly as possible. And to a large degree, it appeared to be working.Though many residents of Zhuhai, the city of 2.4 million where the attack happened, were clearly shaken, they said on Wednesday they had not questioned the delay in information, attributing it to the government’s need to first sort out what had happened. A steady stream of people arrived by foot or taxi to lay flowers at the sports center’s entrance, but when officials took away the flowers and told the people not to linger, they quickly complied.Local governments have also vowed in recent months to spend more time screening for people who have experienced “failures,” after a spate of violent attacks, including several cases in which schoolchildren were stabbed.But officials were also clearly on the lookout for any deeper scrutiny of the Zhuhai killings. Videos and photos of the scene of the attack showed only as grayed-out squares on Weibo, a social media platform. Blog posts urging people not to treat violent attacks as isolated incidents, but rather to look deeper for potential social causes, disappeared.

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