The petition against Cape Air\/United that is being spearheaded by Rose Hocog was to be forwarded to the consumer counsel of the Office of the Attorney General but she was told that the office has no jurisdiction over airlines.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The assistant attorney general] said we would have to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation,\u201d Hocog said. <\/p>\n
In a message delivered on social media to \u201cfrustrated Cape Air customers,\u201d Hocog said she would file the complaint with the department by the end of this week.<\/p>\n
The OAG\u2019s consumer counsel is assistant attorney general Ghassan Harb. Under consumer protection law in the CNMI, the office is allowed to settle any disputes between merchants and consumers, as well as prosecute those who have conducted business practices that are harmful or unfair to its consumers.<\/p>\n
Hocog said that she was told that a press release from the OAG regarding the filing of complaints would be issued soon.<\/p>\n
The U.S. DOT allows letters or complaint forms to be submitted online on its Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement website. Complaints are entered into DOT\u2019s aviation system and charged to the company in question through the Air Travel Consumer Report, made available to the airline industry and public every month.<\/p>\n
According to the DOT website, complaints will be reviewed to determine the extent to which carriers are in compliance with federal aviation consumer protection regulations.<\/p>\n
Hocog\u2019s petition began in June and has since collected over 200 signatures online.<\/p>\n
In an earlier interview, Hocog said that Cape Air\u2019s constant mechanical issues are provoking concerns about the safety of passengers and crew.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am calling for [government agencies] to force Cape Air to get a new and better airplane and improve their services and to do so without raising their price,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The online petition cites how CNMI residents pay up to $400 for roundtrip tickets to Guam but do not receive the kind of service they deserve for the amount of money paid.<\/p>\n
Based on statements posted online, disruption of and inconvenience in family, business, and professional life are some of the various reasons cited for supporting Hocog\u2019s petition.<\/p>\n
One customer, Pepe Liwanag of Saipan, cited United\u2019s \u201cinconsiderate\u201d and \u201cadditional fees.\u201d <\/p>\n
John Kyle Pangelinan, who lives in Guam, said the prices for flights between Guam and Saipan \u201cmake no sense\u201d and are \u201cridiculous\u201d given the unreliability in aircraft service.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was one of the people who endured the 4-5 delays in a single night because their aircraft had service issues. I choose not to fly home [to Saipan] frequently because I don’t feel safe riding their planes. Purchase new aircrafts, United, and your new airfare rates would be understandable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Another customer claimed that because the airline has a \u201cmonopoly\u201d on flights between Guam and Saipan, they feel they have no reason to be concerned about the \u201cunreasonable fares\u201d and service they provide.<\/p>\n
This week, Cape Air cancelled flights up to the Aug. 6. The previous run of cancelled flights occurred as recently as last week and the previous weekend, with flights cancelled up to July 31.<\/p>\n
United\u2019s press release on Monday cited no reason for the flight cancellations. Last week\u2019s flights were attributed to \u201cmechanical issues.\u201d Efforts to obtain more details about these \u201cmechanical \u201cissues\u201d were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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