Even though you have bought a ticket and reserved a seat, you are not
guaranteed to board the plain. Passengers are sometimes told by the operator
that their flight has been overbooked and they have to take a later one. The
European Commission is fully aware of that denied boarding causes passengers
great inconvenience and loss of time. Also cancellations without warning and
delays that leave passengers stranded for hours at an airport, are other kind of
bad surprises. And so it's the big question: what rights do the passengers have
in such a situation, and how can passengers insist on their rights if they do
not know them?
Now the Commission has made the rights both clearer and extended. In addition
the commission make big efforts to inform passengers about their new rights and
for giving them a fair treatment. It's based on a recent deal between the EU and
the ECAC (European Civil Aviation Conference (organisation: ECAC).
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Photo.
An air passenger victim. An eager traveller waits impatiently for
boarding, but where is the plain? |
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The new regulation agreed in Brussels, the 15 October this year (2003), by
the European Parliament and the Council will replace the existing one dating
from 1991.
Here the rights for the passengers have been significantly extended as the
European Commission considers it: "This has severe limitations as it does not
effectively deter airlines from denying boarding or cover cancellations for
commercial reasons or long delays. Nor does it apply to non-scheduled flights,
chartered by tour operators. This will change radically with the new regulation,
which will give passengers effective, all-round protection once it comes into
effect in around one years time".
Four important new rights for the passengers have been added (referred from
EU, IP/03/1392, Brussels, 15 October 2003):
1. Extend air passengers' rights to all kinds of
flights.
Until now, were excluded non-scheduled flights,
a large part of the market. The new regulation will cover both scheduled and
non-scheduled flights (including airtransport sold as part of a package
holiday). - Also, the new regulation will apply not only to passengers departing
from an airport located in a Member State but also, if the airline operating the
flight is a Communitycarrier, to passengers flying from a third country to a
Member State, unless they receive similar treatment in the third country.
2. Cut denied boarding.
The new regulation will
dramatically reduce the frequency of denying boarding against a passenger's
will, by a combination of two measures. First, when expecting to turn passengers
away, and before doing anything else, airlines will be obliged to call for
volunteers to surrender their seats in exchange for advantages; in other words
they would try to strike a deal with passengers interested in giving up their
seats. Only if insufficient volunteers came forward, would they be allowed to
deny passengers boarding against their will. - Second, if after all airlines or
tour operators do deny passengers boarding, they would have to pay compensation
at a dissuasive level: - 250 for flights of less than 1500 km - 400 for
intra-Community flights of more than 1500 km and for other flights 1500 and 3500
km - 600 for all other flights. This will create a strong incentive to make
volunteering attractive and a powerful deterrent to deny boarding. In addition
to financial compensation, passengers denied boarding will continue to enjoy
these rights: - the choice between reimbursement of their ticket and an
alternative flight, and - meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation.
3. Minimise the inconvenience of cancellations.
When airlines or tour operators cancel flights on their own
responsibility, passengers will have the right to compensation at the rate fixed
for denied boarding, unless: - they are informed two weeks before the scheduled
time of departure, or - they are informed on due time and re-routed at a time
very close to that of their original flight. In addition, in case of
cancellations, passengers will receive three other rights: - meals and
refreshments, and - hotel accommodation, when a cancellation obliges a passenger
to stay overnight, and - reimbursement, when a cancellation delays a passenger
for at least five hours.
4. Assist passengers facing long delays.
When
airlines reasonably expect a long delay, they will be obliged to give
passengers: - meals and refreshments, and - hotel accommodation, when a delay
obliges a passenger to stay overnight, and - reimbursement, when a delay delays
a passenger for at least five hours. The European Commission promise to make big
effort to ensure that the passengers are well informed of their new rights and a
proper information will be given in all airports.
Would this be better for the passangers in the long run? How would it be
practised, and how would it influence the prices? Anyway clear rules and
routines will be welcomed.
Stein Morten Lund, 25. oktober 2003
Additional information
Read about details for
compensation (Regulation on Denied Boarding and Cancellations or Long Delays):
http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/rights/doc/pr_2003_10_15_en.pdf
The EU instruction tell passengers how to inform the Commission of the
response given to their complaints. They can write or e-mail to : Rue de la
loi/Wetstraat 200, B-1049 Brussels, fax (32-2) 299 10 15 e-mail:
tren-aprights@cec.eu.int
Passengers can also complain directly to the relevant organisations in each
Member State. Presentation of the European Commission: The European Commission
embodies and upholds the general interest of the Union and is the driving force
in the Union's institutional system. Its four main roles are to propose
legislation to Parliament and the Council, to administer and implement Community
policies, to enforce Community law (jointly with the Court of Justice) and to
negotiate international agreements, mainly those relating to trade and
cooperation.
The European Union (EU) is a family of democratic European countries,
committed to working together for peace and prosperity. It is not a State
intended to replace existing states, but it is more than any other international
organisation.
The EU is, in fact, unique. Its Member States have set
up common institutions to which they delegate some of their sovereignty so that
decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made democratically at
European level.
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