TRAVELERS’ CHECK : Guru mutes advocate’s comments
Posted on Monday, March 24, 2008
Newspaper folks latched onto David Stempler of the Air Travelers Association years ago as the self-appointed voice of the airline passenger.
They’ve quoted him at every turn since.
He’s much appreciated by journalists who struggle at deadline to find people who can speak well about airline passenger issues.
Smaller passenger seats ? Call Stempler.
Sick kid on a plane didn’t get help ? Call Stempler.
Fees for an extra checked bag ? You get the idea.
The Guru first used Stempler’s words in January 2002 and has used him as a source in stories six other times, but today will be the last time. Stempler isn’t the voice of airline passengers.
Since Stempler founded the association in 1997, the media has relied on his information even as Stempler consistently refused to say how many members he’s got. The organization is funded by membership fees, but he no longer accepts new members.
“He’s the biggest quote factory in the airline industry,” said Christopher Elliott, a syndicated travel columnist for Tribune Media Services, who became suspicious years ago about who Stempler really represents.
There’s a belief that Stempler’s organization is funded by airlines or an airline trade association to give the appearance that he represents passengers’ voices, but Stempler denies that.
Stempler, an aviation lawyer, was once president of Florida Airlines, which became Southern International Airways and became defunct in 1981.
“It would be a conflict to get money from airlines,” Stempler said. “I’m advocating for passengers. If you don’t want to quote me, that’s fine. If I can provide information, I’ll provide it for you.” Some journalists, including Elliott, stopped using Stempler’s comments after he wouldn’t provide details about his association’s membership. Still, Stempler gets plenty of publicity.
You’ll find Stempler’s words in stories written since the beginning of this year and published in USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. That’s only the big boys. Lots of small newspapers quote Stempler.
So, what will The Guru do when he needs an opinion about what the nation’s airline passengers will do or how they’ll react to a change proposed by an airline ?
He’ll go to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport and find real-world business and leisure travelers rather than rely on a media-savvy guy who purports to know what passengers think.
The Guru also might call on Kate Hanni, the California real-estate agent who founded the Coalition for an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights. The coalition receives a financial contribution from about 20 percent of the organization’s 22, 000 members, Hanni said.
Interestingly, Stempler has reached out to Hanni.
“He thinks I’m taking his spot, and I’m not,” Hanni said. “He never was a consumer advocate.” Robert J. Smith’s column about people on the move in Northwest Arkansas appears each Monday. He can be reached at rsmith@arkansasonline. com.
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