What are travellers’ rights? With airlines under great financial and competitive pressure these days, customer service has taken a back seat. Things that you probably once took for granted may no longer happen. What happens, for instance, when a flight is cancelled and you are stranded in Boise, Idaho? What rights do you have as a passenger?
First, the shocking part—you have very few “rights” when it comes to airline travel. For years our travel association, ASTA, has lobbied both the U.S. and the Canadian governments to pass legislation called “The Air Travelers’ Bill of Rights,” but with no real success.*
So when your flight is cancelled or delayed, legally speaking, the airline is not obliged to do much if anything to help. An airline’s legal contract with you is limited to transporting you from point A to point B. There is no requirement to get you there by a specified time. They don’t even have to use an airplane to fulfill their contract. In a pinch, they are perfectly entitled to put you on a bus!
Fortunately, for public relations reasons all major airlines will try to offer you decent alternatives and/or compensation when your scheduled flight evaporates. The extent of their generosity, however, depends on how much they feel they are responsible for the problem. For instance, if you are delayed because of a mechanical issue or airline labour dispute, the airline will either accommodate you on another of their flights or, if none available, on another carrier’s flight. If you are forced to “overnight,” most major airlines will pay for your accommodation and some meals. Not all airlines, however, may be so accommodating—don’t expect much from any of the new discount airlines. Again, no law obliges them to pay anything or do much to help you out. It is solely for customer relations reasons that you get what you do from airlines.
On the other hand, if the cancellation or delay is caused by a force outside of the airline’s control—say bad weather, an air-traffic control strike, or a terrorist threat—most airlines will do very little to help you. You’re going to be stranded until they see fit to get you out of there. If you are without a reliable travel agent, you’re probably on your own! In several recent cases (eg. “Sept. 11th”) airlines simply sent most of their staff home, leaving thousands of passengers stranded, phone lines unanswered, and chaos at the airports! When it comes to an emergency, you just can’t rely on the airlines. Even if there were the good will to help, they are no longer staffed to deal with these situations.
What You Can Do:
Here are some things you can do to head off problems:
• If you must reach your destination on the same day or by a particular time, book a flight that leaves early in the day (or at least has a later backup), that way you will have alternative flights if your flight is delayed or cancelled.
• Before you leave for the airport, review other flight options in case your flight is cancelled. And check that your flight is on schedule.
• Purchase trip-cancellation insurance. RBC Travel Insurance will cover various issues, such as “flight interruption” which generally pays for costs incurred when your connection is missed due to flight delays/cancellations.
• Use a travel agent. For a small fee, you have the assurance that someone will be there to help you out in an emergency and/or be your advocate when an airline does not want to assume responsibility for its mistake.
*For details, go to: http://www.astanet.com/travel/trav_rights.asp
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