The main European airlines, reacting to the implementation of new EU rules on passenger compensation, have described the legislation…
The main European airlines, reacting to the implementation of new EU rules on passenger compensation, have described the legislation as deeply flawed, and potentially very damaging not only to their business, but also to the relationship with their customers.
From February 17, existing levels of statutory compensation for passengers who are ‘bumped’ from flights which operate normally will be doubled, and will also be extended to cancelled flights.
There is also provision for assistance in the case of long delay including overnight accommodation if necessary. In the case the passenger chooses to abandon his travel plans, the delayed airline must reimburse him the entire cost of the journey, including sectors already travelled.
It is these last elements which causes the airlines the greatest concern, since the duty to assist passengers will apply to all delayed flights, whatever the cause. This is in contrast to the flight cancellation provisions of the legislation, which take account of exceptional circumstances outside the control of the airlines.
Said AEA Secretary General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus: “There have been occasions when airports have been paralysed for several hours by adverse weather or industrial action, affecting tens or even hundreds of flights and thousands of passengers.”
“The full-service network carriers routinely assist their passengers in the event of delay, regardless of the reason. Moreover, by virtue of their complementary networks, they are in a position to assist each other in the case of schedule disruption in finding convenient alternative routing for affected passengers. In situations where all flights at an airport are affected, however, these options do not arise and the consequences for all carriers are potentially very damaging”.
While no airline would do so willingly, he said, occasions were bound to arise where cancelling a flight became a more viable option than delaying it.
On the very rare occasions when passengers are denied boarding; a combination of existing statutory rules, discretionary awards and alternative travel arrangements serve to minimise the inconvenience. Said Mr Schulte-Strathaus: “As quality brands in a competitive industry, our ability to meet our customers’ expectations, when things go smoothly and when they go less than smoothly, is of paramount importance”. He pointed out that the new rules requires airlines, in the first instance, to seek for volunteers; “This, in itself, should be sufficient. To overlay a co-operative voluntary system with a punitive statutory one is inconsistent and contradictory”.
“The discrepancy in the treatment of exceptional circumstances between the delay and cancellation provisions, and a lack of clarity as to what those circumstances might be, would seem to invite differing interpretation between the airlines and their customers as to the applicability of the compensation rules”, said Mr Schulte-Strathaus. “Contrary to what the rules are intended to achieve, this is not an environment conducive to good customer relations”.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
