Airlines to pay for denying boarding
25 May 2008, 0000 hrs IST,Saurabh Sinha,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3069429.cms
NEW DELHI: Shoddy treatment of fliers will soon cost airlines dear.
Within days of issuing strict refund rules, the Directorate General of Civil
Aviation is finalising a new policy under which airlines will have to
compensate passengers denied boarding on overbooked flights.
Fliers will also be given the option of asking for a refund or a later flight
if the one they were booked on is delayed by more than a certain number of
hours.
Titled 'Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines, the policy will
cover a gamut of issues that concern passengers ranging from denied boarding to
those who reach airports in the stipulated reporting time, cancellations and
long delays.
"When an airline has overbooked and needs to deny boarding to some passengers,
it will have to call for volunteers. Those who volunteer will have to be given
an option of refund or a later connection. If that flight happens to be next
day, the airline will also provide accommodation," said sources.
Airlines frequently sell more seats than are available, betting that some
travellers wont show up. In case an airline forcibly denies boarding to
unwilling passengers, the latter shall be entitled to a hefty compensation
along with refund from the carrier. There could be slabs for such compensation
based on the duration of flight and whether its domestic or international.
Realising that the economic model of low cost carriers (LCC) may not be able to
sustain these extra costs, the rules are expected to work as a deterrent
against rampant overbooking. The DGCA keeps getting complaints of passengers
being stranded due to forcible denied boardings. One LCC was particularly
notorious for such a practice.
Similarly, when a flight is cancelled the airline will have to give the option
of refund or a later connection along with meals and accommodation if required.
The ministry is also considering if passengers of such flights should be
entitled to some compensation.
"Our idea is not to put a financial burden on airlines but to ensure that
strict rules act as disincentive against taking passengers for granted. If
there are delays or cancellations, airlines should inform passengers in time
and avoid penalty for them and inconvenience for others. But that is not
happening as there are so many airlines now and each one of them is under
pressure to cut costs. The passengers interest has to be protected," said an
official.
The new policy could follow international norms and exempt airlines from such
liabilities "when an event has been caused by extraordinary circumstances that
could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures were taken".
This would include delays or cancellations caused by "political instability,
weather conditions, security risks, unexpected flight safety or strikes."
Despite this safeguard, the new rules are likely to face stiff opposition from
airlines.
But the fact that government means business is clear from the fact that in past
month itself, the DGCA has announced two consumer-friendly decisions. First, it
issued a rule that physically challenged travellers will neither be denied
travel wrongly nor disallowed to take guide dogs with them on aircraft.
On Thursday, it made it mandatory for domestic airlines to give refunds in time
and also not force people to travel with them within a certain time if they
cancel their booking.
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With Regards
Abi
