Airlines Rules >>>> new faces>>>> new trend

[Isan]

Airline angry over compensation rules

Press Association
Wednesday February 16, 2005

New rules forcing airlines to compensate passengers for delayed and cancelled flights take effect tomorrow, but are being brought in amid confusion and acrimony.

Opponents of the EU regulations say they are unfair to low-cost carriers and are poorly worded.

The EU already faces two legal challenges to the new rules which have been described as "a lawyers' charter".

Under the regulations, airlines whose craft leave from airports in EU member states would have to pay compensation of 250 euros (about £172) a passenger if a flight of up to 935 miles in length was overbooked or cancelled.

The compensation for overbooking or cancellation of flights of more than 1,800 miles would rise to 600 euros (about £416).

The EU regulations also cover compensation for delays of up to two hours for flights of up to 935 miles, as well as three-hour delays to flights from 935 to 1,800 miles and for four-hour delays to flights of more than 1,800 miles.

The compensation would include free meals, refreshments, free phone calls and hotel accommodation if the delay continued overnight. Airlines failing to comply could face fines of up to £5,000 a passenger.

But there is confusion about what constitutes a delay. Airlines are exempt if the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided, but this appears not to cover technical problems with the aircraft.

One low-cost carrier which is particularly unhappy with the regulations is easyJet. "We think this is poor legislation. There will be plenty of arguments about it and the only people who are going to get rich from this are the lawyers," an easyJet spokesman said today.

He added: "One of the legal challenges concerns the fact that the whole compensation package is disproportionate and is not based as a percentage of the fare paid.

"However, we can assure customers that fares will not go up as a result of this. They are going down and will continue to go down."

The UK government opposed the regulations when they were first proposed. The Department for Transport said today: "The UK supports the rights of air passengers and welcomes the long overdue updating of the existing regulation on denied boarding compensation.

"However, we are mindful of industry concerns about the proportional impact of this legislation, particularly on the no-frills sector, and will carefully monitor the situation over the coming months."

[Isan]

Airlines face discrimination ban
Bob Ross


Mr Ross was charged £18 for using the wheelchair at Stansted Airport
New moves to stop airlines discriminating against disabled people were announced by the European Commission on Wednesday.

The measures follow a row involving a disabled passenger who was charged £18 by Ryanair to use a wheelchair at Stansted Airport.

Proposals unveiled in Brussels would outlaw charging disabled air passengers for any special help they need.

It would also be illegal to refuse boarding because of disability.

About seven million European airline passengers need special help every year.

Half-mile journey

Bob Ross, of Islington, North London, who has cerebral palsy and arthritis, needed the wheelchair for the half-mile journey from check-in desk to departure gate and objected to paying for its use.

Ryanair blamed the Stansted operating company, BAA, which charged for the wheelchair and, last December, the Court of Appeal ruled that both were guilty of breaching the Disability Discrimination Act.

A judge ordered them to share the cost of the £1,336 compensation awarded to Mr Ross against Ryanair at an earlier hearing.

Mr Ross's Euro MP, Richard Howitt, leader of the European Parliament's Disability Rights Group, welcomed the Commission proposals and warned follow MEPs to resist any efforts to water them down.

The plans for special measures for disabled travellers were unveiled on the eve of a package of EU-wide rules coming into force.

They guarantee compensation to all European air travellers who find themselves "bumped" from over-booked flights or delayed by cancellations without good reason.

The compensation measures apply to all flights, including charters, operated by European airlines to or from any European airport.

[Isan]

Airlines subject to new EU Regulations

16 February 2005


Airlines are now subject to new obligations relating to overbooking, flight cancellations and long delays. The new passenger rights enter into force on 17 February. The new regulation applies to all flights departing from the EU as well as to those flights operated by EU airlines whose destination is in the EU.

Events resulting in compensation are often connected with flight cancellations and long delays. The regulation now entering into force obliges all airlines to take care of their passengers if a schedule flight departure is delayed. It also gives passengers the option of cancelling their journey completely if their flight is delayed by more than five hours. If a journey is made pointless because of a long delay, the price of the ticket will be refunded if the passenger so chooses.

The regulation defines a clear course of action in the event of flights being cancelled. If the cancellation of a flight occurs less than seven days before departure, the airlines may have to pay to passengers a one-off compensation payment, as defined separately. Airlines will not be liable to pay compensation if the reason for the cancellation is 'force majeure' as far as the airline is concerned. Such reasons are factors relating to safety, the state of the weather, aircraft technical faults, alterations to aircraft movements due by exceptional situations, air space restrictions as well as possible consequential effects resulting from these factors.

The new EU regulation specifies a compensation payment of double the current sum in overbooking situations. One European airline, Finnair, said it would offer its passengers the alternative compensation specified in the regulation and will enhance further measures to prevent overbooking arising. The number of overbooking situations has been growing, because an increasing number of passengers are leaving their reserved flight seats unused.

Owing to the current decline in flight prices and increasing cost levels, many airlines have opposed the new regulation because of the cost pressures it imposes. Attempts have been made to postponed the regulation's entry into force and measures to possibly cancel the regulation are under way. The regulation may have the greatest impact on low-cost airlines, which have minimised responsibility issues.

[edubejar]

I just read about this on Yahoo and I was about to post the article here but I see you beat me to it hehe. I'm glad for that actually...if it goes through, that will teach airlines to get away with certain inconveniences to passangers not related to natural causes. Haha! Passengers rule and airlines/corporations are at our mercy! hehe. Obviously I don't work for an airline. Hopefully that will put some fear into Air France workers who just love to strike and inconvenience passengers. If only they would do that to the SNCF who needs such policies more, but the SNCF is public owned so maybe not :( hehe

[Isan]

Air Passengers Get Rights

EU new regulations related to the airlines liability to the passengers have commenced today. Now the airlines are held accountable for events beyond their control, including zero-zero weather.

New rules of the European Union are generally called the toughest in the world. For instance, the airlines will indemnify passengers even if the flight has been delayed due to the mechanical failure or non-flying weather. Previously, all situations beyond the reasonable control of the airlines were likened to the Acts of God, equally detrimental to the air carriers and passengers. Moreover, the airlines will have to pay up if the number of sold tickets exceeds the number of the actual seats. In particular, a passenger short of a seat will get 250 euros if the flight distance doesn’t exceed 1,500 km., 400 euros – if it is from 1,500 km. to 3,000 km and 600 euros if it is above 3,500 km. outside Europe.

IATA and low-cost airlines had appealed to the European Court in good time to challenge the most unfair provisions of the regulations. However, the Court will need months to try the suits and will hardly pass a favorable decision. Anxious about the image, some airlines were eager to agree. In particular Air France pledged to do everything demanded by the EU.

According to the EU briefer, new regulations are designated not to punish the airlines but to assign more rights to the passengers. Besides, unexpected strikes and acts of terror are expected to be crossed out from the incidents, calling for indemnification.

A few years ago, the United States made an attempt to pass similar regulations on the federal level, but gave up as the authorities were apprehensive that airlines may force pilots to fly in risky weather.http://www.kommersant.com/photo/300/DAILY/2005/028/KP_44356_002_09.jpg

[Isan]

Air France ordered to compensate passenger for delayed flight:

[India News]: New Delhi, Feb 17 : International carrier Air France has been found guilty of gross deficiency in service by a Delhi consumer court which ordered it to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 to an ailing aged woman returning here from New York for the suffering caused due to a delayed flight and lack of assistance from its ground staff.

"In our view the negligence on part of the opposite party (Air France) in not providing assistance she required being an old and physically weak person and secondly having delayed the flight without cogent reasons is gross deficiency in service for which the Airlines has to compensate the complainant", Delhi Sate Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission President J D Kapoor, Members Mahesh Chandra and Rumnitta Mittal said.

64-year-old Kajal Banerjee took an Air France ticket for travelling from New York to New Delhi for 28-2-1997. Since the flight did not take off on time she missed her connecting flight from Paris and had to take a circuitous route to her destination through Rome and London by a British Airways flight. On reaching New Delhi she had to be admitted to the AIIMS for high blood pressure and other complications.

She said the Airline's ground personnel also did not provide her help in transporting her baggages at Paris despite showing them a medical certificate.

"When such lapses occur the mental agony a consumer undergoes is immense particularly in a foreign land and that too a woman who is in need of physical help and is left entirely at the mercy of the staff of th carrier", the court said. PTI

[Isan]

The cost of compensation
21st February 2005

From Warsaw Business Journal

by Błażej Karwowski

New air-traffic regulations give special benefits to passengers but may hit airlines.

The new EU transportation law sets out a ?250 compensation payment for cancellation or denied boarding of flights less than 1,500 km-the majority of intra-European routes. Those traveling on longer distances can request a refund of ?400 to ?600. This is double the penalty airlines were previously obliged to pay. The legislation issued on February 17 provides stricter rules on informing passengers about flight cancellations (at least two weeks before departure) and on the provision of meals or accommodation as well.

Traditional airlines support the idea of establishing plain rules, but complain about the details and claim the EU has shown a tendency to over-regulate air-transport traffic. Agnieszka Róg, a spokesperson for Lufthansa, says the airline always paid 50 percent more than the old obligatory minimum, but says: "Airlines may have to pay even in case of a jammed airport or strikes." In her opinion it is unclear to what extent the carrier is responsible for the delay. Airlines would like to see a strike held by an airport operator clearly classified as an act of God, not carrier responsibility.

Yannis Capodistrias, marketing manager of easyJet, agrees and adds: "Low costs, or even passengers on the same flight could be discriminated against." In his opinion, whether one pays zł.100 for a no-frills ticket or zł.3,000 for a business class to London, one is still entitled to the same ?250. He says a fairer rate would be calculated in proportion to the cost of the ticket. Another factor is that calculating the risk might prove difficult.

"That's completely out of our control. Strikes happen in France all the time and it is in the middle [of most routes]," says Capodistrias, adding that a one-day breakdown of one of easyJet's regional hubs could result in paying the ?250 compensation for some 10,000 passengers. As a long-term result, some marginal routes for airlines might prove unprofitable and, says easyJet's manager, "it will automatically mean an increase in prices."

[Isan]

By LESLIE MILLER : Associated Press Writer
Apr 13, 2005 : 9:29 pm ET

WASHINGTON -- Starting Thursday, there is one more thing that air travelers must leave at home: lighters. Unlike guns, knives and other dangerous items that a passenger cannot carry on in his pocket but may stow in checked bags, lighters are banned from anywhere on a plane.

"It's been 3 1/2 years since 9/11 and they've finally figured it out," said Mark Peterson, a Sioux Falls, S.D., appraiser who was grabbing a smoke outside Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday.

The rule change is expected to produce a large number of seizures of lighters even though airports, airlines and the government have been telling travelers for the past 45 days about the impending ban.

"I'm sure we'll have a bunch of them," said George Doughty, executive director of Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pa.

Screeners from the Transportation Security Administration have been more vigilant about finding and seizing banned items than were the private screeners who worked at airports before the Sept. 11 hijackings.

Lighters have not been permitted in checked bags for at least 30 years because they might start fires in cargo holds. Congress passed a bill last year adding lighters to the list of prohibited items in the cabin.

The genesis for the ban was the case of Richard Reid, who tried unsuccessfully to light explosives hidden in his shoes on a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001. He used matches. The sponsors of the ban, Democratic Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Ron Wyden of Oregon, worried that a lighter might have worked in that kind of situation.

The ban does not include matches. Passengers still may carry aboard a plane up to four books of safety matches, which must be struck on a strip of friction to light. Not allowed on planes are strike anywhere matches, which have an extra chemical tip that allows them to be struck using any abrasive surface.

David Stempler, president of the advocacy group Air Travelers Association, said the lighter ban is long overdue. But he said matches ought to be included, too.

"The problem with the TSA on the matches is the inability to detect them," Stempler said.

Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition, said the ban on lighters amounted to "silliness in the extreme."

"It only adds to consumer confusion and longer lines, and longer lines represent a security threat," Mitchell said.

Wehns Billen, who was visiting Washington from Micronesia for a conference, said he was told of the impending ban by his airline. He decided to leave his expensive lighter at home.

People can mail prohibited items, take them to their cars or give them to someone who is not traveling. Otherwise, seized items are not returned.

"The whole thing is silly," Billen said. "I wish they'd put a smoking section on the plane."

Billen may be typical of overseas travelers. They are more likely to smoke than U.S. citizens, said Steve van Beek, executive vice president of the Airports Council International, which represents airport officials.

"How are we going to notify every other passenger in the world connecting through and transiting the United States that their lighters are going to be seized?" van Beek said.

[Isan]

Continental Airlines modifies Excess Baggage Policy for International Travel
3 August 2005


Continental Airlines has made modifications to its free checked-bags policy for international travel, to reflect new weight limits of 50 lbs. each for up to two pieces.

To assist customers with the transition to the new policy, Continental is waiving excess weight charges up to 70 lbs. each for up to two pieces of free checked baggage for international travel purchased through 6 September 2005. Excess baggage charges will be applied for international travel purchased on or after 7 September 2005.

The new U.S. Department of Transportation-approved policy, which makes Continental’s international checked baggage allowance consistent with its domestic baggage policy, is aimed to recoup increased handling and fuel costs associated with carrying heavier bags. It will apply unless prohibited by specific foreign governments for travel to/from their countries.

Continental’s new International Free Checked Baggage Allowance:

- Two pieces of checked baggage free of charge: Maximum weight: 50 lbs. each; Maximum linear dimensions: 62 inches each
- OnePass Elite members: Two pieces of free checked baggage up to a maximum weight of 70 lbs. each; Maximum linear dimensions: 62 inches each
- BusinessFirst or First Class customers: Three pieces of free checked baggage up to a maximum weight of 70 lbs. each; Maximum linear dimensions: 62 inches each
- Military passengers on tour: May check free of charge two duffel bags, sea bags or B-4 bags up to 70 lbs./115 linear inches.
- Certain items may be carried free in lieu of one suitcase.
- Checked baggage over 50 lbs. and not exceeding 70 lbs. will be charged at the rate of $25.00 per piece.

[Isan]

Airline security rules may be eased
Saturday 13th August, 2005 (UPI)

A host of airline security measures would be repealed if recommendations from the Transportation Security Administration are approved.

The measures, enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were outlined in an Aug. 5 staff memo to new TSA director Edmund S. Hawley.

Hawley must approve the proposals for them to take effect.

The changes are billed as improving the quality of air travel by removing out-of-date security measures.

People with special clearance such as politicians and airline officials would be able to bypass security checkpoints.

Ordinary passengers will not have to remove their shoes as much or be subject to as many pat-down searches.

The measures would also allow more carry on items, from scissors and razor blades to throwing starts and bows and arrows.

Saturday 13th August, 2005

[Isan]

US Airways bans animals from planes

Knight Ridder Newspapers

CHARLOTTE — Taking your big dog home for the holidays? Not on US Airways.

The airline said Wednesday it is banning live animals from cargo holds, part of an effort to simplify and align its policies with America West’s before the scheduled merger of the carriers in six weeks. Carrying small animals on board — a la Paris Hilton and her pooch, Tinkerbell — will remain acceptable for a $100 one-way fee.

In other changes, the airline is prohibiting unaccompanied children, ages 5 to 14, from taking trips that require a connection, and it will stop selling medical oxygen on board.

US Airways would not say how many pets it carries. An America West spokesman said his airline has banned pets in the cargo hold because its hubs in Phoenix and Las Vegas are very hot.

Service animals will continue to be permitted.

US Airways: No more pets
Karen Ferrick-Roman, Times Staff
08/18/2005



Children traveling alone will no longer be able to make connecting flights on US Airways, and animals won't be checked as baggage or cargo on flights after Oct. 1.

The airline announced the coming changes on Wednesday as it aligns policies to prepare for its anticipated merger with America West.

US Airways would not specify the number of children and animals it carries but said the number varies by season and is "significant."

Children ages 8 to 14 have been allowed to fly alone on any US Airways flights, including ones with connections, for a fee.

The fee has been $40 one way for nonstop trips or ones that didn't require a change in planes and $75 for trips that involved connecting flights.

The fee climbed to $60 one way for transatlantic, Caribbean and Latin American nonstop flights and $90 to make connections on those international trips.

Children ages 5 to 7 could fly unaccompanied on flights that did not stop or require a change in planes for a $40 one-way fee.

The US Airways policy also charged only one fee for two or more children from the same family that were traveling together. Under the new policy, children traveling alone must be 5 to 14 years old and will pay a one-way additional cost of $40.

Children traveling alone who already were ticketed by Wednesday will be allowed to make connecting flights through Nov. 1.

Animals no longer will be accepted as cargo or baggage. US Airways will honor ticketed reservations made before Wednesday for pets, through Nov. 1.

The airline charged $100 for animals carried in cargo and has a list of specifications on how the animals are to be crated.

Additionally, passengers who need supplemental oxygen will no longer be able to purchase it onboard US Airways.

However, the Federal Aviation Administration recently approved portable oxygen to be carried in the cabin if it is not compressed.

Compressed oxygen concentrators are considered hazardous material by the FAA. But two units by AirSep Corp. and Inogen Inc. do not use compressed oxygen, according to the FAA.

This new rule would allow passengers to use their own oxygen tanks instead of buying supplemental oxygen from airlines, the FAA said.

In light of this rule, "the airline is working to implement new policies," US Airways said.

The airline also said it will assist in making alternate plans for customers who already hold reservations for travel after Oct. 1 and will be affected by the changes.

[Isan]

Vietnam Airlines could compensate passengers for delays under draft law

VNECONOMY updated: 29/08/2005

Under the law, air carri-ers will have a duty to compensate passengers when their flights are delayed. But the law does not make clear in which cases the passengers will receive compensation, nor the amount of money they would receive. Why not?
Aviation covers a wide range of activities. But its activities depend very much on weather conditions. So, flight delays are unavoidable.
The current draft of the revised law mentions compensation for passengers, but how much the compensation will depend on the circumstances. Currently, such a compensation policy is only practised by European airlines for flights within the continent.
For Viet Nam, I think it is necessary to have a compensation policy for passengers whose flights are unreasonably delayed, but the policy must be affordable by the airline and compensation cannot be as high as that given by European airlines.
That’s why the draft law only authorises compensation in principle. Detailed implementing guidelines will be issued in other documents.
The lack of reserve aircraft for Vietnam Airlines means that the airline is offering a service it may not yet be ready to provide, resulting in flights that aren’t on schedule. Is that right?
All aircraft are operated at their full capacity.
It is necessary to have more aircraft in reserve in case of need. But this requires a huge amount of money from the State budget as Vietnam Airlines is a State-owned enterprise.
Other causes attributing to the problem are the poor management and problem-solving abilities of airline management boards. It is a simple courtesy to convey an apology to passengers for delaying their flights.
Why are prices for domestic flights not included in the draft law?
Prices are changeable, and they are often affected by changes in the market. However, they will be stipulated in other legal documents.
But, in the past few years, many have been indignant at arbitrary increases in airfares.
I think airfare increases were approved by the Government. The decisions were made to make prices conform to world trends and to respond to hikes in petroleum prices.
What do you think about domestic airfares?
I must admit that going by air is not common among the poor. The prices should not depend on State subsidies.
Do you think prices these days are too expensive?
Yes, they are expensive. There are two factors affecting the high prices: cumbersome and inefficient management and poor competitiveness.
As Vietnam Airlines has to compete with Pacific Airlines and some other foreign carriers, it has to keep airfares lower for a longer time despite increasing fuel prices.
Tickets for flights after 21.30 hours have to come down even more to attract passengers. This is an indication of a market-oriented airline service.
Will Viet Nam allow private airlines to operate in its territory?
The draft law says that all economic sectors are entitled to take part in the aviation field.
But the Ministry of Transport sees the aviation sector as a special sector, needing special treatment. Any new player in the field should meet a certain set of requirements under Vietnamese laws and regulations.
All organisations and individuals are encouraged to invest in airport development, set up new air carriers or engage in different forms of aviation services.

Source: Vietnam News

[samsonyuen]

I like the compensation laws. If they thwart plans, and it's their fault, they should have to pay!

[Isan]

EU air passengers must be compensated - court adviser
By Jeff Mason

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Airline passengers stranded by delays or overbooking are entitled to a hotel room, food and cash, a top adviser to the EU's highest court said on Thursday, dismissing a challenge by airlines to the new EU rules.

Airlines, many of them barely profitable, criticised the rules as harmful to their business and went to court to fight the European Union regulation, which took effect in February.

The rules force airlines to compensate passengers for overbooking, long delays or cancellations with food, lodging, and, in some cases, hundreds of euros.

"There is no doubt, in the view of the Advocate General, that the obligations imposed on the air carriers are a suitable and proportionate means of reducing the trouble and inconvenience to passengers resulting from delays or cancellations," the European Court of Justice said in a statement, referring to one of its legal advisers.

The Luxembourg-based court follows the advice of its advocates general in about 80 percent of the cases. In this case Leendert Geelhoed issued his opinion on Thursday.

"Advocate General Geelhoed has suggested to the Court that the regulation be considered valid," the statement said.

The attempt to block the implementation of the new rules was filed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the European Low Fares Airline Association, both of which represent airlines' interests.

The two groups filed their case in Britain and the High Court in London referred the case to the European Court of Justice because the complaint essentially called the whole set of EU rules into question.

A spokesman for IATA noted the advocate general's opinion was just one step in the process and said the organisation would comment once the final ruling comes down.

The top court's justices are now beginning their deliberations.

Under the rules, airlines must pay passengers up to 600 euros ($745.8) if they are denied a seat because of overbooking. In some cases, carriers must give flyers a refund and a trip back to their point of departure.

The rules apply to all flights to and from the EU.

[Isan]

Mobile phones allowed in European skies
Trials with British Midland and Air Portugal
By Jan Libbenga
Published Thursday 22nd September 2005 12:37 GMT



British Midland and TAP Air Portugal will permit passengers to use their mobile phones in the air next year, the two European airlines said this week.

Both companies will use base-station technology developed by OnAir, the Airbus-backed rival to Boeing's Connexion. OnAir uses pico-cell base-stations from Siemens, coupled with software from TriaGnoSys. The kit will be installed in 2006 with a view to commencing a trial service late in the year.

Initially, only a couple of aircraft will be equipped with the system. TAP will use OnAir on its single-aisle Airbus 321, and BMI on the Airbus 320. The target market for BMI will include business and leisure travellers to its destinations in Europe out of London's Heathrow, including Manchester, Belfast Edinburgh, Paris and Amsterdam. Travellers can use all GSM and GPRS handsets, including Blackberry devices.

However, there are a couple of restrictions. Passengers can use their phones only from 10,000ft - they will still not be able to use wireless devices during take off and landing. Charges have yet to be determined, but rates will be in line with current international roaming charges, OnAir said