What’s the shortest book in the world? Forget those ethnic jokes; the answer is “Air Passengers’ Rights.” With the exception of two cases-when you’re bumped off a plane because of overbooking, or when you demand a non-smoking seat-the only rights you have are those the airline chooses to give you.
Many airlines deliberately overbook a flight-accept more reservations than the number of seats available-to compensate for “no-shows” who make reservations but fail to show up for the flight. For the most part, the airlines are skillful at predicting the number of no-shows, so the problem is usually kept under control. Occasionally, however, fewer people fail to show than predicted, so the airline has to “bump” one or more travelers who have confirmed reservations.
When you’re bumped, federal law specifies the compensation due. If the airline can get you to your destination within an hour of your original schedule, it owes you nothing. If it gets you there one to two hours late (one to four hours, for international flights), you’re entitled to a cash payment of the amount of your one-way fare, with a cap of $200. If you’re later still, your compensation increases to twice the fare, with a cap of $400. In any case, you get to keep your original ticket. The bumping rule does not apply to charter flights, commuter flights, or international flights inbound to the United States.
You have one other legal right-to a non-smoking seat. All domestic flights (except flights over six hours to or from Alaska or Hawaii) are now non-smoking. Smoking is still permitted on overseas flights, although some airlines have voluntarily banned it, either altogether or on certain flights. Even where smoking is permitted, U.S. airlines are required to provide a seat in a non-smoking section for anyone who requests one. That law, however, is less effective than it sounds. Since there’s usually no physical barrier between smoking and non-smoking sections, the air at some non-smoking seats is actually no better than it is in the adjacent smoking section.
Those two cases, however, are the beginning and the end of the list of air travelers’ rights, as mandated by law. And that’s unfortunate, because there are a lot more reasons-beyond overbooking-for an airline to deny you a seat for which you have a valid ticket. And there are other ways an airline can fail to get you to your destination within two hours of your original schedule.
What are your rights if an airline bumps you because it switches your flight to a smaller plane? If an airline promises you a 7 a.m. departure, then keeps you around the airport all day and finally leaves at 7 p.m.? In those-and virtually all other situations where an air trip is badly fouled up-you have no rights mandated by law. And all the law requires is that airlines have a written policy about how they handle various problems, and that that written policy be available to travelers.
These thoughts were stimulated, in part, by the appearance of the latest version of “Fly-Rights,” a 60-page pamphlet published by the Department of Transportation. How did DOT manage to fill up 60 pages, when there are so few real rights? The discussions of bumping and smoking occupy eight pages. The other 52 contain mainly a series of travel tips and recommendations-useful, to be sure, but hardly anything to do with rights. Still, it’s a handy reference for travelers. You can order a copy ($1.75) from: Consumer Information Center, Dept. 133B, Pueblo, Colo. 81009.
