Brussels; 15/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The price airlines pay when it comes to respecting airline passenger rights is between €1 and €3 for each airline ticket.
Airlines are performing well when it comes to responding to passengers' complaints. A European Commission report, presented in the form of a working document on Thursday 15 May, notes that out of the complaints filed between 2010 and 2012, a large majority of them had been settled. Only 1% of these complaints had led to a penalty being imposed on the airlines. Everything would therefore suggest that the airlines are fully respecting passenger rights, namely, European rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of being refused embarkation, delayed or cancelled flights (currently being revised). The airlines do not have that much to lose when it comes to meeting their responsibilities fully in this connection. The Commission estimates that passenger rights only cost them between 0.6 -1.8% of their annual turnover (although in some cases, this figure does increase to 5%). The repercussion of this compensation or reimbursement of an airline ticket is reportedly from €1 to €3, according to the Commission. The latter reveals that in 2010, more than 90,000 complaints were lodged against airlines. This figure was higher because of the closing down of airspace following the clouds created by volcanic ash. In 2011 and 2012, the number of complaints fell back down again to just over 50,000. (MD)