Strasbourg, 15/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - There is both good and bad in the review on air passenger rights proposed by the European Commission on Wednesday 13 March. “Despite the positive steps, the intended and unintended consequences of the Commission's proposal will be to the detriment of both travellers and the airline industry”, said Tony Tyler, Executive Director of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). On the other hand, all welcome the fact that the legislation is undeniably becoming clearer, although there are many who will be wondering about the application that will result from this.
Consumers left waiting. Consumers, whose interests are supposed to be at the heart of the revision to Regulation 261/2004, consider the review is of key importance and more than necessary, the European consumers' bureau (BEUC) affirms. Extending assistance to cover various kinds of delays is a good point, as, indeed are the obligation to follow-up complaints and to keep passengers informed. On the other hand, BEUC finds it difficult to understand the Commission's choice to extend to five hours, as opposed to the initial three hours, the length of delay incurred in intra-European flights before airlines must set in place compensation for passengers. It would have been preferable to follow the ruling of the EU Court of Justice fixing the minimum delay at three hours, the consumer association bemoans.
A gift to the industry. This gift of two hours to the air transport industry should therefore be welcomed by the carriers. The Commission takes the view that this should encourage airlines to find solutions for carrying passengers to their final destination, either by ensuring flights are on schedule or by putting passengers on another flight. On behalf of IATA, Tyler therefore welcomes the fact that the “proposals recognise that delays come with a high cost on airline operations and that for passengers their impact varies with journey length. They further acknowledge that airlines cannot be held indefinitely responsible to provide assistance in circumstances completely beyond their control”. The Commission clarifies the concept of attenuating circumstances and fixes the obligation of finding accommodation for passengers held up by flight delays at three nights at a maximum of €100 (a ceiling that does not please consumers).
Connecting flights. Carriers are very concerned about the new Commission provisions relating to connecting flights. In the event of delayed arrival due to a missed connecting flight, the Commission holds the airline at the origin of the first delay responsible. For regional companies, this is a major problem, as Simon McNamara, Director General of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), points out saying: “Even if, on a given first flight, only a handful of passengers miss connections, the potential liability could be greater than the entire revenue from that flight. The commercial risk of that unfair provision could result in airlines making the difficult commercial decision to focus on point-to-point operations instead of providing global connectivity to passengers through convenient hub transfers”.
Compensation should be in proportion. Another bone of contention is that low-cost companies note that it is necessary to adapt financial compensation in a way that is proportionate to the price paid for the ticket. They are backed on this by the IATA. Tyler focuses, for his part, on the price of re-routing (if flights are more than 12 hours behind schedule, passengers may be placed on board an aircraft chartered by a rival airline), saying ironically: “If your Bic pen doesn't work, you don't expect to get a Mont Blanc as compensation!”
MEPs pick up the pass. MEPs believe revising the regulation on air passenger rights is a good thing but they do not fail to see that some of the provisions are not fully in the passengers' favour. Michael Cramer (Greens/EFA, Germany) took umbrage at this, saying: “Using this review to soften EU rules on air passenger rights is clearly a totally wrongheaded approach”. Thus, his group requests that such rights be well applied and that an independent mediator be created. Saïd El Khadraoui (S&D, Belgium) also underlines elements that are absent from or too weakly put in the proposal, mainly the question of passengers who are delayed for over three days. Although review surely does not result in a worsening of air passenger rights, he nonetheless wishes to see those rights strengthened. Regarding compensation for flight delays, he plans to bring the European legislation closer to the Court's rulings, and also wishes to seize the opportunity to set out the responsibilities incumbent upon each player involved, including airports. (MD/transl.jl)