Story originally printed in the Holmen Courier or online at www.holmencourier.com
Published - Tuesday, July 08, 2008
LEGAL MATTERS: Knowing your rights can make skies friendlier
Air travel is not what it used to be. In years past, airline travel was considered a luxury with thoughtful flight attendants looking after sophisticated passengers. Today, airline travel conjures images of cramped cabins, delayed flights, lost luggage and correspondingly grumpy travelers.
It’s no wonder. Airplane travel has increased 114 percent in just the past 20 years alone. Airlines today move more than 700 million passengers and 2 billion pieces of luggage per year. With those dramatic increases come corresponding increases in flight delays, cancellations and complications.
When confronting these challenges, most domestic airlines historically followed what was called “Rule 240.” Rule 240 was created by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board in the late 1930s. The rule mandated that airlines with delayed or canceled flights had to transfer you to another carrier if the second carrier had seats available to get you to your destination more quickly than the original airline.
Since the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, the federal mandate of Rule 240 no longer exists. However, Rule 240 still exists today in principle, but it is contained within the portion of a flight contract that outlines an airline’s conditions of carriage.
Consumers often don’t even know the contracts exist, let alone what they contain or where to find them (check online or ask an agent). But you should read and understand these contracts because they spell out your rights as an airline passenger.
Though you may find some slight variations between domestic carriers, most generally follow the same guidelines of the original Rule 240 — essentially assuring that if your flight is delayed or canceled, the airline will confirm you on their next available flight. If that option is unacceptable to you, you may request to be confirmed on another airline.
Both options should be available at no additional cost. If no alternative flights are acceptable to you, the airline must refund the price of your ticket, even if it’s nonrefundable.
It’s important to note that most of these airline contracts contain ambiguous language, often guaranteeing only that the carrier “will exercise reasonable efforts” to carry you and your baggage according to the published schedule reflected on your ticket. But most airlines truly do their best to accommodate inconvenienced passengers in a timely way.
The rules change significantly depending on the cause of the delay or cancellation. When a disruption is the airline’s fault — mechanical problems or crew shortage, for example — most airlines will accommodate inconvenienced passengers not only by re-booking them but also by paying for lodging if needed and providing meal vouchers and long-distance calling cards.
But when delays and cancellations are due to a force majeure — such as bad weather, war or labor disputes — airlines have no obligations to passengers.
The only instance in which airlines are required by law to compensate passengers is when they are bumped from oversold flights. When airlines overbook and must bump passengers, they will first look for volunteers. Such volunteers are rewarded with vouchers for future travel, a hotel stay and sometimes cash. When volunteers are hard to find, airlines will bump passengers involuntarily, often starting with the last to check in for a flight.
In these instances, airlines must explain your rights in writing and will usually try to rebook you on the next available flight. If they can still get you to your destination within an hour of your originally scheduled arrival time, they generally will not compensate you further. If you are involuntarily bumped, you are entitled to a refund if you wish.
Rule 240 aside, if you plan to fly commercially this summer season, these two tips may provide your best hope in the event of delayed, cancelled or even oversold flights. First, follow all the airline’s rules: get a confirmed reservation, check in on time and arrive early enough to clear security in time for boarding. Second, be kind to airline agents. If you run into problems, they’ll be your best allies in finding a workable alternative.
Joseph G. Veenstra is an attorney with Johns, Flaherty & Collins, SC, in La Crosse.
All stories copyright 2006 Holmen Courier and other attributed sources.