I always enjoy reading Chris Elliotts blog, and hes got a really succinct take on the European Unions Passenger Bill of Rights (EC 261 February 2004). At first glance, the EUs Rights look terrific; it tells you exactly what compensation to expect for various problems, such as delays and cancellations.
But Chris didnt tell us everything.
Like many bureaucratic documents, there are issues left up to interpretation — unfortunately passengers are not the ones doing the interpreting…
I have been studying this topic closely for a few days while trying to make a claim for my Austrian cousin with US Airways under the provisions of this Bill of Rights for her flight which was canceled 2 times, delayed once and arrived 3 days late from Munich to Philadelphia last Wednesday (flight 707).
Who Holds the Get Out of Jail Free Card?
Ill put it this way: if this Bill of Rights was a Monopoly game, the airlines are holding all the Get Out of Jail Free Chance cards!
For instance, airlines may not have to compensate passengers, If an airline can make a case that a cancellation was the result of extraordinary circumstances.
And just what is an extraordinary circumstance? According to EC 261, these could be 1) political instability, 2) meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight, 3) security, 4) unexpected flight safety shortcomings and 5) strikes.
Note that next-to-last circumstance! Who defines what an unexpected flight safety shortcoming is??? — The airlines of course. Whatever it is, it sure looks like a loophole big enough to fly a Airbus A380 through!
Section 5.2 of the most recent EU Passenger Bill of Rights follow-up (required by Jan 2007 in the original Bill) notes that the airlines play the get out of jail free card by simply stating the following in regards to most delays and cancellations:
In practice, experience has shown that, in most cases, airlines invoke these extraordinary circumstances when facing a cancellation. In 2005, the Commission advised all Community carriers that such a practice cannot be abused. However, airlines argue that they have no interest in any voluntary canceling of flights, as this would have a negative commercial impact.
So who are the brains behind this ultra fuzzy legalese? Don’t know (but we can guess), and we do know the airlines have been lobbying against this Bill of Rights; last year, they challenged it in courtand lost.
Passengers are Still Complaining
More to the point, the European Commission criticized the airlines in April for doing the bare minimum required to inform passengers about these rights. And that may explain (according to the Air Transport Users Council) why complaints about delays have TRIPLED in the 2-years since the EUs Bill of Rights went into effect.
The European Commission indicated last spring it would give the airlines 6-months to improve their passenger rights performances. If that doesnt happen, the rules could get tougher. Just in time for the holiday travel season. Maybe this is one Monopoly game the passengers actually land on “Boardwalk” instead of “Baltic Avenue”.
[...] Yesterday’s post on the European Union’s “Passenger Bill of Rights” (EC 261 February 2004) highlighted some of the loopholes and shortcomings of the EU regulation that was designed to ensure that passengers get taken care of when they face cancellations or extended delays. Even though there is great room for improvement with the EU regulation, it seems at the very least, they are trying to take a step in the right direction. That made me realize how little our federal government is really doing to protect the rights of passengers flying to and from the United States. [...]
This isn’t about foreign travel but my daughter-in-law just flew Air Tran from Charlotte, NC to DFW. There was a stop in Atlanta that was late leaving by over three hours. They would not let them off the plane and she had an 18-month old. As if that wasn’t enough fun, her carseat didn’t show up in Dallas and they didn’t have any for her to rent. The lady at the baggage counter told her to buy a comparable one and they would reimburse her, even if hers showed up. The next night the lost one showed up and when she went to reimbursed, they refused to pay for it. The customer service manager said the employee made a mistake. Talk about incompetent, etc.
i am going to hawaii in dec 2007 and have been watching the airfares and seats available on them for several months now. the price has remained the same and i was wondering do you think it may come down maybe in sept? there are quite a few seats left on the flight i want which is on delta from wilmington nc to atlanta to honnolulu. the current price is $835.00. thanks for any inside info you may have.
Rick–
I was on the same flight (707 renamed to 9010) from MUC-PHL and have written now 3 letter to USAirways Customer Support, they have all been ignored. I put 1 week between each letter.
Who are you trying to file a claim with? Have you made progress?
To me, the fault on the 2nd was clearly “expected” as they had 24 hours to research the problem and 6 hours to try to fix the machine, after which they declared it fixed– you know the story I guess.
I’d appreciate any details/success in getting a contact of any kind from US Air, as I believe it’s one case where we truly do deserve compensation.
Thanks for blogging on this.
[...] I received a response to that email, and it seems that US Airways is relying on the old Get Out of Jail Free Card. They have offered my cousin an electronic voucher for $600 (about 443.25 Euros), but claim they [...]
Hi Everyone,
I have updated my ordeal with US Airways regarding the EU Passenger Bill of Rights and laid out the steps you need to take to file a claim in a new post. Hopefully it will help anyone who might have questions regarding flight 707 or other similar situations: http://www.rickseaney.com/index.php/2007/08/22/us-airways-the-final-battle/