Much has been made about new passenger protection rules set to go into effect in late August. Despite some objections by airlines and their supporters, most of the rules will take effect but there will be some exceptions.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is poised to enact rules that will extend the tarmac delay limits to international flights; increase the amount that a passenger is entitled to for being bumped from a flight; require airlines to add baggage fees to ticket confirmations; mandate that all taxes and fees be included as part of the total advertised fares; and allow passengers 24 hours to cancel tickets without a penalty. Claiming that more time is needed to train personnel and program systems for the changes, the airlines have successfully lobbied the DOT for a delay in fare and fee disclosure rules, baggage fee disclosures and the 24-hour cancellation grace period. Some rules will still take effect as scheduled – the international 4-hour tarmac delay limit and the increased fee for bumping passengers, for example. Other rules are not set to be implemented until this October or as late as January of 2012. The latest extension will likely be for 4 months as originally requested by the airlines.

Meanwhile the Federal Aviation Administration has missed a self-imposed deadline for implementing new rules to combat pilot fatigue. Pleas from regional, charter, commuter and cargo airlines played a key part in the delay. Following the crash of Colgan Air flight 3407 in 2009 which was largely blamed on pilot error likely exacerbated by fatigue, the FAA was set to enact the new rules on the 1st of August. These rules were to increase the rest time period between shifts for pilots from 8 hours to 9, and decrease the maximum hours a pilot can remain on duty to 13 hours from the current 16-hour limit.

Critics of the delay believe the FAA has been influenced by intense lobbying by the airline industry, most recently by charter and cargo operators. Opponents of the new rules point to the added cost of hiring more pilots and applying a one-size-fits-all standard to operations that often rely on irregular schedules and flexibility.

Groups representing the families of the victims of Colgan Air flight 3407 expressed disappointment with the FAA's delay, suggesting that the agency is caving to the wishes of the airline industry. Quoted in The Wall Street Journal, an FAA spokesperson stated that the FAA "is committed to ensuring that airline pilots are fit and rested when they report for duty," and is "working aggressively to complete a new pilot fatigue rule." The article also added that the representative declined to elaborate on what a "new pilot fatigue rule" would contain.