WWW.READMETRO.COM MAY 2017
FOCUS /
00
Airlines will continue to violate passengers’ rights Recently some international airlines have been involved in scandals by violating rights of passengers. Metro investigates how not to become a victim.
Experts explain what to do if airline violates your rights:
1
Document everything, whether it is happening to you or to someone else. The videos that have hit the social and mainstream media lately show the power of a smartphone and the video captured by it.
DANIEL CASILLAS
Metro World News
In late April David Dao, a 69-year-old VietnameseAmerican doctor, has been forcibly dragged off a United Airlines aircraft, flying from Chicago, Illinois, to Louisville, Kentucky, after refusing to leave the board so staff from a partner airline could have his seat for a connecting flight. Cruel images of the incident became viral on the internet and put air services violations on the spotlight. Although the case of Dr. Dao caught attention and generated indignation, pulling out passengers from an overbooked flights is a common practice. Moreover, it is legal among major U.S. airlines. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, last year around half a million passengers were left at the gate holding valid tickets for a flight. In total 434.4k+ passengers voluntarily gave up their seats of the United Sates twelve largest airlines. But 40.6k were asked to leave the aircraft against their will. Only United Airlines had issues of a kind with 3.765 passengers last year. Although it is not sup-
2 3
Actively study your rights -- it can save you a lot of money.
Do not be a pushover legally. If the airline refuses to pay, sue them.
4
As soon as the flight is over, you can file a complaint with authorities.
|ISTOCK
91%
of passengers voluntarily agreed to take cash or a travel voucher and a seat on a later departure in the U.S. last year. ported by most of the clients, air services in the U.S. and other parts of the world allow overbooked flights and the removal of passengers who refuse to leave their seat. That is how it works: companies sell more seat that those actually available on board and gamble that
some people will not show up. However, if all of them come on time, some will have to be transferred to another flight. Experts believe that such practice should disappear: “Airlines overbook because people buy refundable airfares (mostly) and don’t show up. Honestly I think overbooking should be eliminated since most fares now are non-refundble and the airlines keep all or most of your airfare if you don’t show up and then sell the seat a second time. It’s greedy,” George Hobica, travel expert and founder of Airfare Watch-
dog, told to Metro. After the scandal with United Airlines, company has recognized t h e mistake and Oscar Munoz, its CEO, apologized for the actions of his employees at Congress and promised that they will not be repeated in the future. United also announced that it will increase the compensation to passengers who had to give up their seat on overbooked flights up
tickets than there are seats. There is no compensation owed when you are denied boarding when the airline provides alternative transportation that is scheduled to arrive, at the time of the denied boarding, within one hour of your original, estimated arrival time. However, you are owed 2x your ticket price, up to $675, when your new arrival time is between one and two hours later. When you are denied boarding and the alternative flight is scheduled to arrive more than two hours later, you are entitled to 4x the ticket price up to $1350. When you are involuntarily bumped, you are owed cash or check at the exact time and place of the denied boarding. Before an airline may involuntarily bump a passenger, it must first seek volunteers. There is no limit to what an airline can voluntarily offer,
but most of the time they offer low amounts invouchers. In the United incident, United offered $400 and then $800 in vouchers. As many travelers know, airline vouchers come with many restrictions and typically a one year expiration date. If the trip is international, you may also be entitled to delay compensation for damages up to $5500 under Article 19 of the Montreal Convention.
to $10k. Despite the airline’s response, several organizations that oversee passengers’ rights assure that abuses against clients of air services are protected by laws and will continue to be happening. “Passengers are increasingly treated like cattle and not valued customers. Whether it is small seat sizes or a simple interaction between
the passenger and airline, companies do not treat customers with the respect that they used to,” Andrew Appelbaum, staff attorney at FlyersRights.org confirmed. A possible solution to this issue, according to experts, could be the implementation of more severe economical penalties against airlines that violate passenger’s rights. “Airlines and any large corporation for that matter will follow rules only if there is a significant financial disincentive for not doing so. Otherwise, they will pay the fine, and continue to disobey the law -- as long as it is cheaper,” Gabor Lukas, Canada-based passenger rights advocate concluded.
Q&A PAUL HUDSONT
president at FlyersRights.org
Do we give up any rights when we get on board of a plane? You give up most of your rights when you get on board an airplane. The Patriot Act classifies, as a federal felony, any act that interferes with the operation of a flight. This has been used to prosecute people for non-terrorist acts on board airplanes. What human rights do airlines violate most? Airlines are able to violate human rights for two major reasons: the airlines’ special place in the law and
the lack of competition. Airlines are exempt from most state consumer protection and tort law. When you do have a claim against the airlines for small claims or state court, for example, the airline can remove the case to federal court, where court costs are too expensive for most Americans. Additionally, the four major airlines control 80 per cent of domestic air travel. Passengers are very price sensitive, especially when the major airlines seem to offer the same low level of customer service. This is assuming that passengers even have meaningful choice in which airlines they can fly. Could you explain how does the overbooking work? Overbooking is a deliberate practice that airlines engage in to sell more
Is it legal for the companies to take passengers off the plane against their will, as in the case of United Airlines An airline may remove a passenger from a plane even if they are in breach of contract. Contractually, an airline can deny boarding to oversales and may refuse to transport when the airline is not at fault
(when the passenger is at fault or for an act of god). Whether the passenger has any remedies depends on the circumstances. Do you think there is a need of more laws regulating airlines to avoid such issues? Airlines should not be allowed to engage in overbooking. When you purchase a ticket, we think you should be entitled to that seat unless there is some safety justification. Additionally, the justification for overbooking is outdated. Now, airlines charge very high change fees and cancellations fees, or complete forfeiture of ticket prices paid. Overbooking is no longer necessary, and the passengers should not bear the costs of the practice. If airlines are going to continue to involuntarily bump passengers,
the compensation should be increased and the reciprocity rule should be restored. Before deregulation, airlines would guarantee that they would put you on the next available flight, regardless of airline, in cases of cancellation or long delays. Now, you can be bumped off a flight, put on that airline’s next flight which might be hours or days later, and you will be owed minimal compensation. This is assuming that the passenger even knows they are entitled to compensation. Airlines conveniently fail to inform passengers of their rights and even mislead passengers. In August 2016, United Airlines was fined $35,000 for actively misleading passengers with respect to their rights when involuntarily bumped.