EEC Proposals - Denied Boarding Compensation
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EEC Proposals - Denied Boarding Compensation
Does the Team Think??? (Crikey, that shows my age - especially as 'twas broadcast on the "Home" service before it became Radio 4!!!)
The EEC are proposing minimum compensation levels for pax "bumped" from a flight or when an airline cancels a flight.
BA and the "airlines with frills" have always had a voluntary DBC procedure in place. In BA's case, it has been £125 short haul and £250 long haul per passenger - overnight accommodation, meals and re-routeing as needed provided if we have "Denied Boarding". This amount is loosely half that proposed by the EC Parliament.
Easyjet, Ryanair and the "no frills brigade" are now bleating that this compulsory compensation would signal an end to the low fares!
Personally, I believe it would assist the passengers in
(a) ensuring airlines compete on a fair and even basis and
(b) encourage airlines not to deliberately oversell to unmanageable levels.
(c) ensure that where a customer is inconvenienced, he/she is adequately looked after.
From "Auntie BA's" standpoint, with the fare structure having been eroded away over the years, there probably isn't enough return on ticket sales to cover the sort of figures bandied around by the EC. How can one shell out £250 when the passenger has paid £0 (mileage award ticket)???
What sort of compensation levels do the railways pay??? .......or the coaches??? Should Vodafone compensate me when they decide to repair a transmitter and I can't get a signal??? Perhaps my next door neighbour should have a compensatory tariff when the postman delivers to his house and blocks my driveway for 45 seconds???
Where does legislative compensation end?
Food for thought?
The EEC are proposing minimum compensation levels for pax "bumped" from a flight or when an airline cancels a flight.
BA and the "airlines with frills" have always had a voluntary DBC procedure in place. In BA's case, it has been £125 short haul and £250 long haul per passenger - overnight accommodation, meals and re-routeing as needed provided if we have "Denied Boarding". This amount is loosely half that proposed by the EC Parliament.
Easyjet, Ryanair and the "no frills brigade" are now bleating that this compulsory compensation would signal an end to the low fares!
Personally, I believe it would assist the passengers in
(a) ensuring airlines compete on a fair and even basis and
(b) encourage airlines not to deliberately oversell to unmanageable levels.
(c) ensure that where a customer is inconvenienced, he/she is adequately looked after.
From "Auntie BA's" standpoint, with the fare structure having been eroded away over the years, there probably isn't enough return on ticket sales to cover the sort of figures bandied around by the EC. How can one shell out £250 when the passenger has paid £0 (mileage award ticket)???
What sort of compensation levels do the railways pay??? .......or the coaches??? Should Vodafone compensate me when they decide to repair a transmitter and I can't get a signal??? Perhaps my next door neighbour should have a compensatory tariff when the postman delivers to his house and blocks my driveway for 45 seconds???
Where does legislative compensation end?
Food for thought?
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Whilst no one can deny that the EU are just trying to have the passenger's best interests at heart (well, I hope so) it all seems a bit impractical (like many things that come out of Brussels it would seem).
Who decides who/what is responsible for a delay or cancellation? What about strikes? What about ATC? Knock-on effects of weather? Diversion for medical/disruptive pax?
I thought the whole point of low-cost airlines was that they charged you a lot less WITHOUT the frills....
Why not allow the pax to decide? If people don't think they're getting value for money, they will vote with their feet, and the airline(s) will go to the wall. On the other hand, perhaps some are willing to forfeit compensation for delays/cancellations if the "price is right" (no choice with trains or buses!)
In any case, Ryanair don't overbook or cancel for commercial reasons anymore. I'm not sure about the others, but I suspect it's the same (barring the recent events at easy).
Yes, it's a bummer when your flight is seriously delayed or even cancelled, but I'd rather suffer the unlikely event of having to pay an extra night's hotac than seeing the low-cost airlines gone for good.....
Perhaps a 'free flight' (including taxes
) might be more acceptable compensation for all?
Who decides who/what is responsible for a delay or cancellation? What about strikes? What about ATC? Knock-on effects of weather? Diversion for medical/disruptive pax?
I thought the whole point of low-cost airlines was that they charged you a lot less WITHOUT the frills....
Why not allow the pax to decide? If people don't think they're getting value for money, they will vote with their feet, and the airline(s) will go to the wall. On the other hand, perhaps some are willing to forfeit compensation for delays/cancellations if the "price is right" (no choice with trains or buses!)
In any case, Ryanair don't overbook or cancel for commercial reasons anymore. I'm not sure about the others, but I suspect it's the same (barring the recent events at easy).
Yes, it's a bummer when your flight is seriously delayed or even cancelled, but I'd rather suffer the unlikely event of having to pay an extra night's hotac than seeing the low-cost airlines gone for good.....
Perhaps a 'free flight' (including taxes
) might be more acceptable compensation for all?
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Surely the airlines' response to this is obvious...
"We will be happy to pay the compensation on the understanding that every passenger who fails to arrive for a reserved flight, or cancels the reservation less than one hour before the scheduled departure time, shall be liable for an equal charge."
"We will be happy to pay the compensation on the understanding that every passenger who fails to arrive for a reserved flight, or cancels the reservation less than one hour before the scheduled departure time, shall be liable for an equal charge."
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Quite, Paper Tiger, I think my original post and the intentions of the EC have been misunderstood.
Easyjet's fiasco with the rosters (where 17 flights at Gatwick alone were cancelled with the pax receiving nowt) prompted the EC discussions regarding minimum compensation payments for Denied Boarding (bumping) and cancellation due to avoidable circumstances
Weather delays, issues of aircraft safety (eg Boeing grounding a particular aircraft type or a technical fault) etc would still be at the airlines' discretion.
Hope this clarifies matters a little
Easyjet's fiasco with the rosters (where 17 flights at Gatwick alone were cancelled with the pax receiving nowt) prompted the EC discussions regarding minimum compensation payments for Denied Boarding (bumping) and cancellation due to avoidable circumstances
Weather delays, issues of aircraft safety (eg Boeing grounding a particular aircraft type or a technical fault) etc would still be at the airlines' discretion.
Hope this clarifies matters a little
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Eurostar used to give vouchers for late arrivals - you could send it in with your used ticket and buy a similar ticket at half price. They would have staff waiting on the platform handing out these vouchers for arrivals that were more than an hour late. I think they've now cut down on this generous scheme.
My point being that the compensation payable could be limited to half the value of the ticket with a maximum limit of the amount recommended by the EEC (I think we're supposed to call it EU now, but I prefer to imagine it still as an economic community ...). 'Free' tickets obtained through air miles still have a value - after all, we've 'paid' for them by boosting the airlines profits on numerous other trips.
Common sense should be allowed to operate (dream on ...) - there's a great difference between a long-haul flight being cancelled with a subsequent 24hr (or longer) delay and a short hop to Paris which results in taking the next flight an hour later.
My point being that the compensation payable could be limited to half the value of the ticket with a maximum limit of the amount recommended by the EEC (I think we're supposed to call it EU now, but I prefer to imagine it still as an economic community ...). 'Free' tickets obtained through air miles still have a value - after all, we've 'paid' for them by boosting the airlines profits on numerous other trips.
Common sense should be allowed to operate (dream on ...) - there's a great difference between a long-haul flight being cancelled with a subsequent 24hr (or longer) delay and a short hop to Paris which results in taking the next flight an hour later.
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All the info is here:
EU proposal
It's actually a PDF file and wont work here, you need to search for transport news.
EU proposal
It's actually a PDF file and wont work here, you need to search for transport news.
Last edited by takenthe5thamendment; 31st Oct 2002 at 10:37.
