Airlines Face Steeper Penalties for Overbooked Flights
Bumped from your flight? There may soon be greater consolation -- and compensation -- for the inconvenience.
By Martha Lynn Craver, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter
July 20, 2007
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The government wants airlines to think twice about how they treat you. Concerned that more and more air travelers are being bumped from their flights, the Department of Transportation is considering a plan to make the airlines pay you more for the inconvenience. Almost 20,000 passengers were forced to give up their seats in the first three months of this year, a 12% rise over the same period last year. "This is definitely a signal to the airlines to clean up their act," says Kevin Mitchell of the Business Travel Coalition.
Most airlines deliberately overbook their flights to make up for no-shows. When too many passengers show up, the airline is required to ask people to volunteer to give up their seats in exchange for compensation. If there aren't enough volunteers, those who are bumped by the airline are also entitled to payment -- the fare price up to $200 if they are delayed less than two hours or up to $400 if the delay is longer. The bumping rules were first put in place in 1962, and the penalties haven't changed since 1978.
Penalties could more than triple under plans being considered by the Transportation Department. One idea is to raise the $200 compensation cap to $624 and the $400 cap to $1,248. Other options range from just doubling the limits to $400 and $800 to eliminating all limits and making compensation equal to the value of the ticket (or double the value for longer delays). The agency is also considering extending the rules to small planes. The current rules apply only to aircraft with 60 seats or more, but the minimum may be lowered to 30 seats.
The airlines are sure to try to block any change. If they fail, they'll have to scramble to improve service. With planes flying at or near capacity, however, it will be tough for carriers to quickly arrange alternative flights for travelers on oversold planes.
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Reader Comments (1)
Posted by: Gerri at 07/23/2007 05:41:53 PM
My return flight was canceled due to "lack of crew." I was able to stay in my hotel one more night (got the last room). USAirways was not very accommodating...I spent hours on the phone trying to rebook my return flight the next day and ended up returning to a different airport to avoid having a horrendous return schedule (3 connections!) instead of the one layover originally scheduled. Customer service told me to talk with the representative at the airport to get my hotel cost covered. The airport personnel told me to call customer service. I ended up writing and they sent me a voucher for a future flight -- which is not what I wanted! Overall, it was ridiculously difficult to even get the voucher out of them and I would like to see stronger passenger rights.