American Airlines, Inc. v. Wolens, 513 U.S. 219, 13 (1995)

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Cite as: 513 U. S. 219 (1995)

Opinion of the Court

points to the Department's authority to require any airline, in conjunction with its certification, to file a performance bond conditioned on the airline's "making appropriate compensation . . . , as prescribed by the [Department], for failure . . . to perform air transportation services in accordance with agreements therefor." FAA § 401(q)(2), 49 U. S. C. App. § 1371(q)(2).7 But neither the DOT nor its predecessor, the CAB, has ever construed or applied this provision to displace courts as adjudicators in air carrier contract disputes. Instead, these agencies have read the provision to charge them with a less taxing task: In passing on air carrier fitness under FAA § 401(d), 49 U. S. C. App. § 1371(d)(1), the DOT and the CAB have used their performance bond authority to ensure that, when a carrier's financial fitness is marginal, funds will be available to compensate customers if the carrier goes under before providing already-paid-for services. See, e. g., U. S. Bahamas Service Investigation, CAB Order 79-11- 116, p. 3, 84 CAB Reports 73, 75 (1979) ("We . . . find that Southeast [Airlines] is fit to provide scheduled foreign air transportation. However, because of Southeast's current financial condition its operations present an unacceptable risk of financial loss to consumers. Therefore, we shall require the carrier . . . to procure and maintain a bond for the protection of passengers who have paid for transportation not yet performed.").

7 The preceding subsection, FAA § 401(q)(1), 49 U. S. C. App. § 1371(q)(1), requires an air carrier to have insurance, in an amount prescribed by the DOT, to cover claims for personal injuries and property losses "resulting from the operation or maintenance of aircraft." See Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 19-20, and n. 12. American does not urge that the ADA preempts personal injury claims relating to airline operations. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 4 (acknowledgment by counsel for petitioner that "safety claims," for example, a negligence claim arising out of a plane crash, "would generally not be preempted"); Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 20, n. 12 ("It is . . . unlikely that Section 1305(a) (1) preempts safety-related personal-injury claims relating to airline operations.").

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