Hello!
What you write, jumpseater, is very true.
Originally Posted by
jumpseater
A bit of this is caveat emptor, buyer beware, but I suggest the ‘pedestal’ that aviation sits on makes due diligence checks less likely, and as Eu asks, where does the layman start, and with what questions.
Every commercial operator must issue a ticket to every passenger, not only within the EU, but in every country that operates under basic ICAO standards. This must no longer necessarily be a piece of paper as in the old days, but can be electronic instead. And it must clearly point to the terms&conditions, the passenger rights and a few more things. Being issued such a ticket is often the only indication to a passenger that he is going to fly on a state-supervised commercial flight.
So even if my employer, manamegent, club or whoever else arranges the flight for me, I as passenger should always ask to see my ticket. That is actually the only thing one can do to verify that they booked me on a legitimate flight. Of course upon boarding one could ask the pilot to display the AOC (an officially stamped copy has to be carried on board all the time) and his license, but not many passengers even know about the existence of such documents,
Let's hope that this tragic accident increases the awareness of the general public towards these issues.