[PASSED] - Aircraft Safety and Comfort Disclosures

[Refuge Isle]

This grew out of my concerns over the GAR#486 replacement dropping disclosure requirements.

I am not going to fly on "Burning Tin Can Airlines" without knowing about the safety records of the airline.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=537267

Notes

1. Note that this does not include things like private aircraft or solo planes etc., it covers only scheduled flights offered on a commercial basis. If you want to fly your own plane, check your own plane. It also does not apply to flights where no passengers travel, such as repositioning flights.
2. This draft is no longer dependent on a repeal of GA34 because it's all just disclosures and not really related to GA34.

Only clause 7 is operative.

Category: Regulation/Transportation

Submitted

The World Assembly (WA),

Noting that air travel is crucial to many WA states;

Believing that travelers deserve to be fully informed on aircraft safety and comfort to make better decisions, such as whether offers of cheap fares should be weighed against exorbitant charges for toilets;

The WA hereby enacts as follows:

1. Definitions.
   
   1. "Aircraft" means any airplane, helicopter, or similar objects defined as such by the International Aero-Space Administration (IASA).
   2. "Airport" means commercial airports, aerodromes, heliports and similar facilities.
   3. "Carrier" means the operator of a regulated flight (defined below). This includes the operator as well as any lessors, charterers, and owners of the aircraft.
   4. "Flag state" means the WA state to which the aircraft is registered.
   5. "WA organs" means any of the committees of the WA.
2. Scope. Clauses (3) to (7) apply to “regulated flights” only. “Regulated flight” is defined as any flight by an aircraft that means all of the following criteria:
   
   1. It is operated for purely civilian purposes, excluding any humanitarian transport and also excludes any flights travelling under the flag of WA organs;
   2. It is operating a regularly timetabled route that involves embarking or disembarking at an airport under the jurisdiction of a WA state; and
   3. It is operated for profit (or for the benefit of the carrier). This includes flights such as those exchanged using loyalty programs, or such as those transferring employees between work sites, and flights operated by a government (or a government-owned entity) for the benefit of its inhabitants, even if such flights are free-of-charge.
3. Methods of disclosure. All disclosures under clauses (4) to (7) must be:
   
   1. specific to each regulated flight and to the particular aircraft used;
   2. up-to-date at all times;
   3. available through convenient physical and electronic means;
   4. available free-of-charge;
   5. available in all languages customarily used in WA states served by that regulated flight.
4. Non-WA flag states. If a regulated flight plans to travel through international or non-WA airspace, the carrier must also disclose and inform passengers of any major differences, versus the WA state to/from the airport the flight serves, in:
   
   1. laws where relevant, such as rights to sapient individuals, and penalties for criminal offenses committed in flight;
   2. the customary cultural, religious, and other practices of the flag state;
   3. Terms used and definitions, especially terms which may differ in meaning between states, such as if "in-flight meals" refer to "passengers getting served food" or "passengers getting served as food".
5. Aircraft safety. Each carrier is to disclose full records regarding:
   
   1. The type, specifications, and maintenance records of that particular aircraft, including the engines and other key parts used in that aircraft;
   2. The experience and training of all officers serving on that flight, on an anonymous basis;
   3. Compliance with all applicable regulations and directives;
   4. Specifications on fixtures and fittings, such as seat pitch.
6. Aircraft service and comfort. Each carrier is to disclose full details regarding:
   
   1. Goods and services provided on board and the prices charged;
   2. Options for in-flight meals, including whether such meals comply with various dietary restrictions, and whether such foods involve ingredients derived from cannibalism;
   3. Boarding, seating and baggage arrangements;
   4. Regular and planned alternative travel routes of the flight, and punctuality records;
   5. Policies for passengers' behavior;
   6. Policies on flight delays, cancellations, overbookings, and forced deplaning of passengers;
   7. Policies for passengers with special needs.
7. Refunds and rebookings.
   
   1. If a carrier needs to change the type of aircraft on a regulated flight prior to boarding, or make major changes to the levels of safety and service offered, it must offer a full refund or free rebooking of that portion of the journey to any passengers that do not desire such changes, regardless of whether the passenger paid for the trip.
   2. A carrier must offer reasonable assistance in rebookings and arranging for alternatives, regardless of whether the passenger paid for the trip.
8. Jurisdiction.
   
   1. The IASA is to develop model disclosure guidelines for authorities that wish to adopt uniform standards of disclosures.
   2. Each WA state shall designate at least one entity to be responsible for enforcement and interpretation of this resolution, depending on the governance structure of that state.

Char count: 4,546

[Makko Oko]

"His Emperor's Government fully supports this proposal. One suggestion, potentially incorporate a recommendation or an allowance for the states to expand upon the code of the ITSC that must such be abided by domestically or shall it be to or from in a flight manifest." - Minister Of Energy, Infrastructure & Environment Rochelle Vangelis

[Tinhampton]

Member states are allowed to exceed the requirements of WA law where not otherwise stated.

[Simone Republic]

Depending on whether "Airspace Sovereignty Doctrine" passes, this would likely be split into two: disclosures on comfort levels and service levels for passengers, and mandatory requirements on servicing aircraft.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=542523

[Simone Republic]

*Bump* on the Simone Republic "I cant spel" bumper.

Draft 1

The World Assembly (WA),

Noting previous resolutions on air travel and protecting the safety of passengers such as GAR#34;

Further noting that air travel remains an important form of transport for many WA states, whether for domestic or international travel;

Believing that passengers should be entitled to understand the safety, training and comfort records of operators of passenger flights, in order to make an informed decision as to the choice of carriers, such as whether offers of ultra cheap fares should be weighed against risks of planes frequently falling out of the sky; hereby

1. Defines:
   
   
   1. "Carrier" to mean the operator of an in-scope flight, and for this resolution, includes both the actual operator of the flight, any lessor(s) or owner(s) of the aircraft;
      
   2. "Disclose" to mean making the most up-to-date relevant information required under this resolution available through convenient electronic or physical means free of charge, at all times when a carrier is authorized to operate in-scope flights, and which must be continuously updated as long as the carrier continues to be authorized to operate in-scope flights;
      
   3. "In-scope flight" to mean a flight by passenger aircraft operating a regularly scheduled route (whether through a scheduled or a chartered arrangement) to or from an airport that is under the jurisdiction of a WA state, and which is operated for commercial profit (and for the avoidance of doubt this includes flights such as employer's ferrying employees between work sites by aircraft);
      
   4. "ITSC" to mean the International Transport Safety Committee of the WA;
      
   5. "Regulations" to mean all rules and requirements applicable to the said in-scope flight or to the carrier, whether specified by the ITSC or the regulations of individual WA states;
2. Requires a carrier to disclose, if applicable:
   
   
   1. Full records on the experience and training records of all cockpit personnel, on an anonymous basis;
   2. The carrier's track record in complying with all regulations, both with ITSC and domestic regulations;
   3. The carrier's track record in punctuality on the scheduled route(s);
   4. The levels of goods and service provided on board an in-scope flight;
   5. The carrier's boarding, seating and baggage arrangements;
   6. The regular and planned alternative travel routes of an in-scope flight;
   7. Policies for dealing with special needs;
   8. Policies for dealing with passengers that may be deemed undesirable depending on culture, such as, merely as an example, having a fat bear that has incontinence that constantly eats, vomits, urinates and defecates in the middle seat;
   9. Policies for compensation for delays on flights, lost baggage or missed connections;
3. Requires a carrier to disclose, if applicable:
   
   1. Full records on the model, specifications and capabilities of the aircraft, including the engines and other key parts used in an aircraft; 
   2. Full records on the maintenance and flight records of the aircraft itself, all parts to an aircraft, and compliance with all safety directives (if any);
   3. Full details on the seat pitch, width, and design of the aircraft (if applicable), and whether it has facilities available to cater to passengers with needs specific to the sapient species for which the aircraft is designed to carry (such as toilets), and whether such facilities require a separate charge;
4. Directs the ITSC to develop and update from time to time a model code of disclosure requirements for the convenience of carriers that may wish to follow the model code to ease comparison for potential passengers;
   
5. Clarifies this resolution, including definitions not specified herein, are subject to interpretation by the ITSC on in-scope flights between more than one WA state(s), or the competent authorit(ies) of a WA state for domestic in-scope flights.

Char count: 3,389

[Simone Republic]

Draft 2.

"His Emperor's Government fully supports this proposal. One suggestion, potentially incorporate a recommendation or an allowance for the states to expand upon the code of the ITSC that must such be abided by domestically or shall it be to or from in a flight manifest." - Minister Of Energy, Infrastructure & Environment Rochelle Vangelis

This has gone to IASA not ITSC but that's largely an administrative exercise regarding airplanes that can also act as spacecraft to avoid arguments over whether a plane that can travel in both airspace and space is an airplane.

There's some ongoing discussions over whether 8a and 8b should be bundled into another resolution.

[Simone Republic]

Last call. Note that my last calls, as usual, have a habit of running for awhile.

[Yourabuy]

i dont see anything wrong with that

[Tootswana]

The Kingdom of Tootswana is against regulating industry and sabotaging the economies of WA states.

[Barfleur]

The Kingdom of Tootswana is against regulating industry and sabotaging the economies of WA states.

"Those are not the same thing, you realize that, right? A purely unregulated industry might well prove detrimental to the economy by allowing bad actors to monopolize markets, reduce competition, extract wealth by rent seeking, and direct investment away from more promising enterprises. Now, we share your concern about overregulation, but this proposal in particular does not seem too bad in that regard."

[Tootswana]

The Kingdom of Tootswana is against regulating industry and sabotaging the economies of WA states.

"Those are not the same thing, you realize that, right? A purely unregulated industry might well prove detrimental to the economy by allowing bad actors to monopolize markets, reduce competition, extract wealth by rent seeking, and direct investment away from more promising enterprises. Now, we share your concern about overregulation, but this proposal in particular does not seem too bad in that regard."

Regulation is a slippery slope, my friend. It starts out reasonable but becomes less so with each step. That is the problem with bureaucracy especially at the international level.

[B1G JIM SLADE]

"Well ai don't lik zis vairy much and ai weehl vigurous-lee vote against eet."

[Simone Republic]

The Kingdom of Tootswana is against regulating industry and sabotaging the economies of WA states.

"Those are not the same thing, you realize that, right? A purely unregulated industry might well prove detrimental to the economy by allowing bad actors to monopolize markets, reduce competition, extract wealth by rent seeking, and direct investment away from more promising enterprises. Now, we share your concern about overregulation, but this proposal in particular does not seem too bad in that regard."

A lot of the requirements are mandatory disclosures (so lots of paperwork) on the part of the airline (including charterers). The only genuine operative clause is the part on rebookings or refunds if a flight's type of aircraft or service level has changed.

This matters quite a bit - changing from an Airbus A350 to a Boeing 767 on a long-haul flight (flying business class or first class) reduces the level of comfort, but changing from an Airbus A320 CEO to say a Bombardier Dash 8 worsens the safety record (and is much noisier). I also refuse to travel on a B737 Max if I can.

[Vecchio]

I'll vote No, just because you seem to never come up with anything worthwhile.

[Lindsay]

Against, with respect to 2b. A flight disembarking from a non-WA state should not be forced to conform to WA policy for the entirety of the flight, this is beyond our jurisdiction.

[Vecchio]

"His Emperor's Government fully supports this proposal. One suggestion, potentially incorporate a recommendation or an allowance for the states to expand upon the code of the ITSC that must such be abided by domestically or shall it be to or from in a flight manifest." - Minister Of Energy, Infrastructure & Environment Rochelle Vangelis

This account should be investigated,

[Vecchio]

"Well ai don't lik zis vairy much and ai weehl vigurous-lee vote against eet."

I'll find a place of refuge right next to you.

[Vecchio]

"Those are not the same thing, you realize that, right? A purely unregulated industry might well prove detrimental to the economy by allowing bad actors to monopolize markets, reduce competition, extract wealth by rent seeking, and direct investment away from more promising enterprises. Now, we share your concern about overregulation, but this proposal in particular does not seem too bad in that regard."

Regulation is a slippery slope, my friend. It starts out reasonable but becomes less so with each step. That is the problem with bureaucracy especially at the international level.

They'll never get it, my friend. ... You can try.

[Yridan]

Yridan recognizes the potential value of a document such as this, however it has come to our attention that there are many loopholes in this resolution.

2a: what does "purely civilian purposes mean"? If one member of the military was paid to fly on every domestic flight and used that flight to travel from one military base to another where they would then serve, could a nation avoid the entire resolution on domestic flights?
5: what is "full records"? Could people use that as a way to get the specs for an airframe? If so, that means that now any manufacturer of aircraft cannot legally maintain corporate secrets, and the same aircraft could be manufactured by a different entity in a way such that it was visually indistinguishable but far less safe. This, in turn, could cause serious risks to passengers who didn't read the large booklet they were provided before their flight.
7a: "regardless of whether the passenger paid for the trip"—does this mean that a passenger who is flying somewhere on behalf of a corporation receives the corporation's money by way of a refund?
8b: Looks like this resolution can be interpreted however individual governments want, then. What if Yridan follows the spirit of this legislation, but some of our citizens fly to another country which has appointed the president's pet cat as the entity in charge of interpretation and so has scrapped the entire resolution because the cat doesn't seem to care? Now all our Yridanians are being put in a dangerous position because they believe that there are strict guidelines in place when, in fact, those guidelines are not being followed.

Thus, the government of Yridan unfortunately cannot in good conscience endorse this resolution.

[Freedom4thepeople]

This grew out of my concerns over the GAR#486 replacement dropping disclosure requirements.

I am not going to fly on "Burning Tin Can Airlines" without knowing about the safety records of the airline.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=537267

Notes

1. Note that this does not include things like private aircraft or solo planes etc., it covers only scheduled flights offered on a commercial basis. If you want to fly your own plane, check your own plane. It also does not apply to flights where no passengers travel, such as repositioning flights.
2. This draft is no longer dependent on a repeal of GA34 because it's all just disclosures and not really related to GA34.

Only clause 7 is operative.

Category: Regulation/Transportation

Submitted

The World Assembly (WA),

Noting that air travel is crucial to many WA states;

Believing that travelers deserve to be fully informed on aircraft safety and comfort to make better decisions, such as whether offers of cheap fares should be weighed against exorbitant charges for toilets;

The WA hereby enacts as follows:

1. Definitions.
   
   1. "Aircraft" means any airplane, helicopter, or similar objects defined as such by the International Aero-Space Administration (IASA).
   2. "Airport" means commercial airports, aerodromes, heliports and similar facilities.
   3. "Carrier" means the operator of a regulated flight (defined below). This includes the operator as well as any lessors, charterers, and owners of the aircraft.
   4. "Flag state" means the WA state to which the aircraft is registered.
   5. "WA organs" means any of the committees of the WA.
2. Scope. Clauses (3) to (7) apply to “regulated flights” only. “Regulated flight” is defined as any flight by an aircraft that means all of the following criteria:
   
   1. It is operated for purely civilian purposes, excluding any humanitarian transport and also excludes any flights travelling under the flag of WA organs;
   2. It is operating a regularly timetabled route that involves embarking or disembarking at an airport under the jurisdiction of a WA state; and
   3. It is operated for profit (or for the benefit of the carrier). This includes flights such as those exchanged using loyalty programs, or such as those transferring employees between work sites, and flights operated by a government (or a government-owned entity) for the benefit of its inhabitants, even if such flights are free-of-charge.
3. Methods of disclosure. All disclosures under clauses (4) to (7) must be:
   
   1. specific to each regulated flight and to the particular aircraft used;
   2. up-to-date at all times;
   3. available through convenient physical and electronic means;
   4. available free-of-charge;
   5. available in all languages customarily used in WA states served by that regulated flight.
4. Non-WA flag states. If a regulated flight plans to travel through international or non-WA airspace, the carrier must also disclose and inform passengers of any major differences, versus the WA state to/from the airport the flight serves, in:
   
   1. laws where relevant, such as rights to sapient individuals, and penalties for criminal offenses committed in flight;
   2. the customary cultural, religious, and other practices of the flag state;
   3. Terms used and definitions, especially terms which may differ in meaning between states, such as if "in-flight meals" refer to "passengers getting served food" or "passengers getting served as food".
5. Aircraft safety. Each carrier is to disclose full records regarding:
   
   1. The type, specifications, and maintenance records of that particular aircraft, including the engines and other key parts used in that aircraft;
   2. The experience and training of all officers serving on that flight, on an anonymous basis;
   3. Compliance with all applicable regulations and directives;
   4. Specifications on fixtures and fittings, such as seat pitch.
6. Aircraft service and comfort. Each carrier is to disclose full details regarding:
   
   1. Goods and services provided on board and the prices charged;
   2. Options for in-flight meals, including whether such meals comply with various dietary restrictions, and whether such foods involve ingredients derived from cannibalism;
   3. Boarding, seating and baggage arrangements;
   4. Regular and planned alternative travel routes of the flight, and punctuality records;
   5. Policies for passengers' behavior;
   6. Policies on flight delays, cancellations, overbookings, and forced deplaning of passengers;
   7. Policies for passengers with special needs.
7. Refunds and rebookings.
   
   1. If a carrier needs to change the type of aircraft on a regulated flight prior to boarding, or make major changes to the levels of safety and service offered, it must offer a full refund or free rebooking of that portion of the journey to any passengers that do not desire such changes, regardless of whether the passenger paid for the trip.
   2. A carrier must offer reasonable assistance in rebookings and arranging for alternatives, regardless of whether the passenger paid for the trip.
8. Jurisdiction.
   
   1. The IASA is to develop model disclosure guidelines for authorities that wish to adopt uniform standards of disclosures.
   2. Each WA state shall designate at least one entity to be responsible for enforcement and interpretation of this resolution, depending on the governance structure of that state.

Char count: 4,546

The freedom4thepeople casted a no for the explaining of. Compliance with all applicable regulations and directives; Do nations have such say into what regulations this carry? As well the cost it will conduct?

As well my country we do not support the idea of having human parts on our land for airport service to serve for meals in the name of culture. As a Muslim country we choose to keep it with our customs. If this passes so be it, but if not round two would be nice with such an update.

[Kenmoria]

This grew out of my concerns over the GAR#486 replacement dropping disclosure requirements.

I am not going to fly on "Burning Tin Can Airlines" without knowing about the safety records of the airline.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=537267

Notes

1. Note that this does not include things like private aircraft or solo planes etc., it covers only scheduled flights offered on a commercial basis. If you want to fly your own plane, check your own plane. It also does not apply to flights where no passengers travel, such as repositioning flights.
2. This draft is no longer dependent on a repeal of GA34 because it's all just disclosures and not really related to GA34.

Only clause 7 is operative.

Category: Regulation/Transportation

Submitted



Char count: 4,546

The freedom4thepeople casted a no for the explaining of. Compliance with all applicable regulations and directives; Do nations have such say into what regulations this carry? As well the cost it will conduct?

As well my country we do not support the idea of having human parts on our land for airport service to serve for meals in the name of culture. As a Muslim country we choose to keep it with our customs. If this passes so be it, but if not round two would be nice with such an update.

Ambassador Fortier stands to speak. “Your Excellency, ‘compliance with all applicable regulations and directives’ is a phrase that appears within 5c. It is in the context of disclosure. The effect of this clause, therefore, is that aircraft must disclose the extent to which they comply with applicable regulations, which makes enforcement far easier. It does not directly mandate compliance. 4c and 6b, likewise, require only that aircraft announce whether cannibalism is occurring. It does not mandate cannibalism.”

[Bananaistan]

"We are opposed. Whatever reasonable idea might have been present in a sort of general way, is completely lost in the plethora of useless information that airlines must now produce. Law of diminishing returns surely applies.

"And it must done in physical means. The totality of the information required is such that airlines will have to continuously print off books the size of telephone directories in multiple languages. We shudder to think of the environmental damage."

[Vecchio]

With enough time to think, none of these proposals will ever be voted FOR. Some are rushed in, some are not like this weak-a$$ cr4p. Should we be thankful we get to say No in time, from time to time? Are you all kidding me? ...

[Dauchh Palki]

Where are these details to be disclosed? How are passengers to be informed? I dread the thought of a 500 page book detailing the entire history of the airline with terms that passengers don't understand in at least 2 languages.

All it says is, "available through convenient physical and electronic means" (3c)
I'm not exactly sure that informing passengers of the culture of every country they fly over is going to be convenient, in aircraft laws, perhaps, but culture; I feel like passengers are responsible for researching that on their own time.

Don't forget, it must be available in every language of countries the flight serves, so does that mean we have to repeat the process over and over again, do we need inflight auto-translated headphones, do we need to have aides and translators for every occasion?

This could've been a good resolution but it just adds unnecessary bureaucracy and expense for airlines, focusing on the safety and laws factor would've been much better. So for that, we are against.

[Shamian]

Against.

Whilst I agree with a unified regulation framework for international air transportation, I have concerns regarding sections 4c (passengers served as food) & 6b (foodstuffs derived from cannibalism).

Seriously, if you are trying to legalise the introduction of "Air Dolcett*", or "Soylent Skylines", at least be honest about it.

Once folks figure out what your inclusion of these two sections would legalise if this passes, this will either get torpedoed completely at vote, or so rapidly repealed it will set a new record...

*If your mind has not previously been despoiled by accidentally coming across this subject, then please for the love of all that's holy do not Google it; no amount of eye-bleach will fix your mental trauma afterwards.