Source: https://www.thetravelinsider.info/2005/draftpassengerbillofrights.htm
Timestamp: 2018-10-19 02:46:14
Document Index: 591763282

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 2', 'art 1', 'art 3', 'art 4', 'art 1', 'art 3', 'art 4']

Draft Airline Passenger Bill of Rights
Part 2 of a 4 part series - part 1 explains why we need a Passenger Bill of Rights and part 3 tells you how you can help make sure we get a Bill of Rights enacted. Part 4 is the electronic petition we need you to sign to show your support for the Passenger Bill of Rights.
The Passenger Bill of Rights achieves multiple objectives. It removes existing airline exemptions from the usual standards of commercial contracts and fairness, and it gives passengers compensation when things go wrong.
If a flight is more than one hour and less than two hours late arriving at its destination (see definition of 'late arrival' below) each passenger will qualify for Level One compensation (see section on compensation below).
In addition, if a flight becomes or is expected to become more than four hours late departing, the airline will offer to make arrangements to transport passengers on any other scheduled carrier that can accommodate them to their destination, in the same or better class of service, and at no additional cost to the passengers, regardless of what the extra cost may be to the airline.
If a flight is 'chronically delayed' such that, for more than one in every four flights during the last 28 days, this same flight has been delayed by more than one hour arriving at its destination, passengers will be entitled to double the Level One or Level Two compensation they would otherwise receive.
If, at any time subsequent to a passenger paying in full for their airline ticket, any one of the flights on their itinerary is cancelled, the airline that issued (plated) the ticket on which the cancelled flight is part of must provide timely notification of the cancellation and offer (at the passenger's choice) either alternate flights on the same airline(s) as before or on any other airlines that operate flights closer to the time of the cancelled flights than the alternate flights operated by the ticketing airline itself.
As an alternative, the passenger may ask for a refund, either of their complete ticket if they have not yet commenced their travels, or of those affected parts of their ticket if their journey has commenced.
If the airline did not provide timely notification, it will also be liable for compensation as if the flight were delayed, based on larger difference of either the departure or arrival time of the replacement flight(s) and the original cancelled flight(s).
If a flight is 'chronically cancelled' such that, for more than one in every seven flights during the last 28 days, this same flight has been cancelled, passengers will be entitled to double the Level One compensation they would otherwise receive.
In addition, passengers shall be entitled to compensation based on the delays involved in completing their travels as per the provisions of the delay right, except that, no matter how short or long the delay, the passenger will be entitled to at least Level One compensation if a coach class passenger, and an unrestricted free ticket for the same itinerary in the same class if a premium cabin passenger.
No items that were lawfully packed into the checked piece of luggage shall be excluded from entitlement to reimbursement, up to the maximum payable.
If a passenger suffers damage to items that were in their checked luggage, then the airline shall reimburse them for the cost of repair to a standard of appearance and/or functionality as if it had not been damaged at all, or the fair market replacement value of such items, up to a maximum of $2800 per person for all items claimed as a result of one leg on an itinerary. The airline may choose which option it adopts, and if it chooses to repair, it will be obliged to make loaner comparable items available if this is reasonable and necessary.
If the item was not adequately packed and protected, the airline will be exempted from liability. Adequate packaging shall be that standard of packaging required variously by the air courier companies and USPS.
If the suitcase itself was damaged, the airline shall either repair it or compensate for the fair market replacement cost of the suitcase, less a straightline ten year depreciation allowance. The cost of replacing the suitcase shall comprise part of the maximum $2800 per itinerary leg liability.
The airline responsible for delayed, lost and damaged luggage shall be the airline that transported the passenger to the place where the passenger receive their luggage in a damaged state.
Claims for damage must be made by the passenger prior to leaving the airport after collecting the damaged luggage.
Tickets can only be assigned prior to the first flight being taken, and must be assigned in full to one alternate passenger.
Tickets can be repeatedly reassigned, with the airline levying the same fee each time it updates its passenger name record.
Airlines shall publish on their websites details about the seats in their different cabin configurations on their different planes.
This will include such information as
Effective seat width (from the inside of the left arm rest to the inside of the right arm rest)
Degrees of seat back recline, being the degrees of movement from fully upright to fully reclined
Pitch as measured from one point on one seat to the same point on the seat in front
Effective net pitch, being the distance from the front of the seat back half way up one seat to the back of the seat back, halfway up the seat back immediately in front
Face space, being the distance from the top of the back of the seat in front, when fully reclined, extended horizontally to where it meets the front of the seat back behind.
The most prominently displayed prices shown in any promotion or fare description must be the total price, inclusive of all taxes and other surcharges, so that a passenger can pay exactly this sum and no more to get the travel as described (subject to availability), booking through the method implied in the information provided, and paying by a credit card accepted by the airline or other advertiser/fare promoter.
Airlines may not add temporary or permanent surcharges to their tickets, whether it be for regulatory compliance costs, fuel increases, insurance, ordinary or special operational costs, or any other thing, but instead must set a simple inclusive price for the tickets they sell, with the only exception to this being per passenger or per ticket taxes levied by the US government or other foreign taxing authorities.
Airlines may set their pricing at any level they choose, and vary it at any time they choose for any reason, including changes in their underlying costs, but the price they sell their tickets for will be shown solely as a single price, except only for taxes which may be shown separately, and in a manner such that the total price inclusive of taxes is also shown at least as prominently as the net fare before taxes and so there is no ambiguity as to which is the fully inclusive fare and which is the fare without taxes.
If any such item is not provided as normally, the passenger has a right to compensation. Any such compensation will be not less than 10% of the ticket value, and at least $25, and may be such larger amount as is fair and appropriate. In determining what is fair and appropriate, it is acceptable to include a penalty factor as well as a compensating factor, but in no case will the airline's liability exceed half the fare paid by the passenger for that sector.
If an airline is forced to downgrade a passenger from the premium cabin they were booked and confirmed in, they shall refund the passenger in full and carry the passenger for free on the affected flight.
It will publicize the toll free number in type size the larger of either not less than 7pt or not more than 4pt smaller than the size of any other phone numbers and website addresses shown in all promotional materials.
It will provide sufficient incoming lines so 99% of callers never receive a busy signal.
It will staff this service at a suitable level so callers wait no longer, on average, to speak to a customer service representative than they would wait to speak to a regular reservationist if calling the regular toll free number to make a new booking, and in no event may hold times exceed five minutes.
Agreed compensation must be received by the customer within fourteen days of the airline and passenger agreeing on the compensation.
Passengers must initiate claims within 30 days of the completion of their itinerary.
In the event a passenger chooses to bring legal action against an airline to enforce these rights, the passenger may choose to bring the action in any competent local, city, county or district court, including, if the sum is within its limits, a small claims court, that is located within the general metroplex area of either the airport from which the flight the complaint relates to departed from or landed at, or, if the airline offers service to/from the passenger's home city, within the general metroplex area of that city, irrespective of where the flight problem occurred.
Compensation to be paid from general airline income
Airlines may not levy any additional charges to cover their anticipated or actual costs in meeting passenger claims but will instead fund such payments from their general income sources, and they are of course free to set regular ticket prices at any level they wish.
Disclosure of Passenger Rights
Airlines will print these passenger rights - either in full or in summary, with such summaries to be clearly marked as summaries - on ticket jackets, tickets, and boarding passes, and will have prominent signs referring to the passenger rights at all checkin points and boarding gates.
Upon request, the airline will give a complete copy of the Bill of Passenger Rights to any passenger.
The Passenger Rights will be prominently linked on airline websites, and referred to in all promotional materials.
Delayed Luggage : Any piece of checked luggage is deemed to be delayed if it is not available for pickup in the usual manner at the usual place within one hour subsequent to the time the plane the passenger was on stopped at the gate and its engines were turned off.
The measured period of delay shall run from that time commencing one hour subsequent to the time the plane stopped at the gate and its engines turned off until such time as the luggage is returned to the passenger's then current address.
A flight is rescheduled so that its departure or arrival time is such as to cause a mis-connect for an affected flight on the passenger's itinerary
A flight is rescheduled and now has an earlier departure time of at least 20 minutes which has not been communicated to the passenger
Late Arrival : The lateness of an arrival will be measured as between the normal scheduled time published by the airline for the flight and the actual time the first passenger steps out of the airplane.
Late Departure : The lateness of a departure will be measured as between the normal scheduled departure time published by the airline for the flight and the actual time the plane pushes back from its gate.
Premium Cabin : Means passengers who have business or first class type tickets for the flight in question, but excludes passengers with free upgrades to these cabins.
If an airline has multiple phone numbers in its passenger record, it shall attempt to reach the passenger directly, using all phone numbers, and leaving messages at each and every phone number if possible, if the passenger is not able to take the call. If an airline also has an email or pager or SMS or other means of contact, and if it can not make direct immediate voice contact, it shall also send emails and leave messages using these additional methods.
If the passenger and airline agree on non-cash compensation in lieu of cash compensation as specified below, the airline shall clearly disclose what restrictions may apply to the non-cash compensation, including such details as :
If a travel voucher for a stated dollar value to be applied to any future travel purchases, when are the first and last dates this can be redeemed, and whether it can be redeemed for travel only in the name of the compensated passenger, or if it can be redeemed by other people instead, and if the value of compensation needs to be redeemed in a single transaction or in multiple transactions
If compensation is in the form of a free ticket or tickets, what restrictions apply to these tickets in terms of when are the first and last dates they can be redeemed, and whether they can be redeemed for travel only in the name of the compensated passenger, or if they can be redeemed by other people instead, and what restrictions apply on advance booking, changes, and inventory classes allocated. In all cases with free tickets, they shall not have rules and restrictions placed on them that are more restrictive than those which apply to regular three week advance purchase fares (or, if the airline does not have three week advance purchase fares, such lesser advance purchase fare as is closest to three weeks)
$50 for flights of less than 750 miles, $100 for flights of between 751 and 1500 miles, and $150 for flights longer than 1500 miles.
$75 for flights of less than 750 miles, $150 for flights of between 751 and 1500 miles, and $225 for flights longer than 1500 miles.
Premium cabin passengers traveling alone will be given a single room with private facilities at a nearby hotel of at least 'first class' standard, or, at their request, they may share such twin or double room with any other traveling companion, no matter what the class of service their companion was booked in.
Premium cabin family members traveling together will be given a twin or double room per two passengers at a nearby hotel of at least 'first class', just so long as one of the family group has a premium cabin ticket.
Passengers living in the nearby region may, upon agreement with the airline, accept cash compensation in lieu of the hotel accommodation and transfers.
This is currently draft version 2.1. This document may be revised based on your suggestions and feedback.
In Part 1 we outline the present problems and why it is we now need an Airline Passenger Bill of Rights. Part 3 we tell you how you can help get this Bill of Rights passed, and part 4 is the Electronic Petition we need you to sign and support.
Originally published 25 Feb 2005, last update 26 Aug 2018