Travel News

DOT’s New Passenger Rights Rules Now In Effect

Put-upon airline passengers are in for some relief as new consumer protections from the Department of Transportation (DOT) go into effect today. While some of the tarmac delay rules have already been implemented, the bulk of the new rules that give passengers more rights and more leverage as customers are only now going into effect.

In the case of tarmac delays, they are expanding the current rules to flights at all American airports. Those rules require airlines to limit delays to three hours and provide food, water, working lavatories and any necessary medical care to passengers after a delay of two hours. Additionally, international flights are now subject to a four-hour tarmac delay limit, with similar requirements regarding the provision of necessary passenger needs after two hours.

If the airlines ignore this rule and strand passengers on the plane, the DOT can issue fines of up to $27,500 per passenger for domestic and now international flights and airlines.

In the case of a fully-loaded A380, the highest-capacity plane operating commercially today, maximum fines for its 538 passengers (in Air France’s configuration) could total $14,795,000 for a single tarmac delay.

The rules also require increased transparency of airline fares and fees. Airlines must now prominently disclose all optional fees on their Web sites, from luggage fees to meals, cancellation charges, reservation change charges, seating upgrades and the like.
One example of this new transparency is Spirit Airlines’ fiendishly long list of charges, including their infamous carry-on bag fee and their fee for agents to print your boarding pass, which is now arranged on a single Web page, accessible from almost any other page on their Web site.

Thanks to recent airline cutbacks that have left planes fuller than ever, another new rule taking effect today is especially timely. Passengers who are involuntarily bumped from their flight due to overbooking could receive significantly larger payouts.

Payouts for bumped passengers suffering short delays (within 2 hours of scheduled arrival time for domestic flights and 4 hours for international) can receive up to $650, instead of just $400. Passengers facing longer delays are now eligible for up to $1300 in payments, up from $800. These payments are calculated according to the cost of individual flights, not a roundtrip ticket, but make the costs of overbooking and bumping passengers significantly higher for the airlines.

Remember, the DOT rules stipulate that passengers are entitled to “cash compensation,” not just vouchers for future flights.

Another new rule mixes common sense with common courtesy: if the airline loses your bag, you’re now entitled to a refund of your baggage fees. While airlines were already required to compensate passengers for expenses due to loss, damage or delay of their bags, the return of baggage fees may be at least a tiny additional incentive for the airlines to try to lose fewer bags.

While these new rights for passengers are officially on the books as of today, there are several more new rules in the pipeline. As the DOT was going through the process of implementing its new consumer rights rules, there were a handful of requirements for which airlines asked for, and received, a delay in implementation.

On January 24, 2012, these remaining rules take effect–and airline passengers will likely be pleased. Three of the 2012 rules concern purchasing fares. Next year, passengers will be able to cancel reservations without payment if they do so within 24 hours and at least a week before departure. Additionally, airlines will be required to list government taxes and fees in advertised fares.

Airlines will also be prohibited from raising fares after they’ve been purchased, unless the passenger agrees and/or it’s a result of government taxes and fees.

Another new rule, sure to be appreciated by international travelers, is that airlines must apply the same baggage allowance and fees throughout any passenger’s itinerary, including segments with code-share partners. This should smooth the baggage process for international travelers, since they will no longer have to pay wildly different amounts for the same luggage on their various flights.

Finally, after years of misdirections, omissions and outright lies, it will officially be against the rules for the airline departure boards to lie. One of the new DOT rules requires “prompt notification” of delays over 30 minutes, as well as cancellations or diversions. Unlike the rules regarding tarmac delays, this one isn’t backed up by big potential fines. So continue to trust that departure board at your own peril.

By Matthew Calcara for PeterGreenberg.com.

Related Links: CNN, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, DOT Press Release

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