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Flight delayed or denied boarding? Know your rights as a flier


Did you know that a consumer court in Maharashtra has ordered Jet Airways to pay a 72-year-old Rs 25,000 along with interest as compensation for rescheduling his flight without informing him? It was reported last week that the consumer court, while passing the order, clarified, “Rescheduling a confirmed ticket without prior permission of the individual amounts to negligence on part of the company. It caused him inconvenience which also amounts to mental harassment of the senior citizen, for which the complainant is entitled to compensation.”

Now this is good news for fliers. Many of us, if not most of us, have at least one horrifying story about the bad service of an airline. It could range from a rescheduled or cancelled flight to fighting for refunds. Not many of us know the recourse that we can take or our basic rights as a flier in such situations.

The aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has laid out rules that airlines should follow in case of delays, cancellations and refunds.

What with it being winter now, delays and cancellations are commonplace and as a flier it would do well to know your rights. Here is a look at some consumer’s rights according to the DGCA.

Refunds

According to the DGCA website, if you have paid by cash, the airline has to refund the money immediately. On the other hand, if you have paid by credit card, the money has to be refunded within seven days. In case of tickets booked via a travel agent, one should approach the agent.

The refund should include Passenger Services Fee, Airport Development Fee/User Development Fee and service tax. You have the option to either take the refund money or use it to travel on a different date.

Now, here is a look at what DGCA rules say about delays, cancellations and denial of boarding.

Delays

According to the DGCA, if the delay is for less than 24 hours from the scheduled departure time, you as a flier are entitled to get meals and refreshments at the airport. And if it is for more than 24 hours, you will have to be provided with hotel accommodations with transfers. However, the choice of hotel is totally up to the discretion of the airline, says DGCA.

Do keep in mind that the airline is not obligated to compensate the flier if the delay is caused due to extraordinary circumstances or force majeure.

Remember this term — force majeure – it will crop up when it comes to cancelled flights as well.

What is force majeure: Force majeure basically means unusual and unforeseeable events that are beyond the airline’s control and the impact of which lead to the cancellation/delay of flight(s), and which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken by the airline. This is according to the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) of the DGCA.

These force majeure events include events that occur due to political instability, natural disaster, civil war, insurrection or riot, flood, explosion, government regulation or order affecting the aircraft, strikes and labour disputes causing cessation of flights etc.

Cancellations

The airline has to inform you about the cancellation of your flight as far in advance as possible (at least two weeks) of the scheduled time of departure. If you have not been informed at least three hours in advance about the cancellation of your flight, the airline is liable to provide you compensation as follows:

a) Rs 5,000 or booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, whichever is less for flights having a block time of up to and including 1 hour. Block time refers to the time taken by a flight to travel from one point to another.

b) Rs 7,500 or booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, whichever is less for flights having block time of more than 1 hour and up to and including 2 hours.

c) Rs 10,000 or booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, whichever is less for flights having a block time of more than 2 hours.

In the case of a cancellation, the airline is bound to provide you alternate travel opportunities at no additional cost. The airline has to refund the ticket in case you are not willing to travel on its alternate or the subsequent flight or on another airline’s flight.

If you have already reported at the airport to catch the original flight which is cancelled and are waiting for the alternate flight, then the airline is bound to provide you meals and refreshments.

However, you will not be entitled for any compensation if you don’t accept alternate travel arrangements offered by the airline or when the cancellation occurs due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the airline i.e., force majeure.

Denied boarding

Overbooking a flight to reduce the possibility of it departing with empty seats is a common practice in the aviation industry. In case of overbooking on a particular flight it may happen that the number of passengers reporting for the flight is more than the number of seats available. Under such conditions, the airline may deny boarding to you even though you may be holding confirmed bookings for travel on the flight and have reported for the flight well within the specified time before departure.

Now, according to the CAR, if the boarding is denied due to an overbooked flight, the airline is not liable to pay compensation if it arranges an alternate flight which is scheduled to depart within one hour of the scheduled departure time of the original flight for which tickets had been bought. If the airline does not do this, then the flier has to compensated as follows:

a) An amount equal to 200 percent of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, subject to maximum of Rs 10,000, in case airline arranges alternate flight that is scheduled to depart within 24 hours of the booked scheduled departure.

b) An amount equal to 400 percent of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, subject to maximum of Rs 20,000, in case airline arranges alternate flight that is scheduled to depart more than 24 hours of the booked scheduled departure.

c) In case passenger does not opt for alternate flight (in either of the cases a and b above), refund of full value of ticket and compensation equal to 400 percent of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, subject to maximum of Rs 20,000.

Points to keep in mind

DGCA states that airlines have to display their policies about compensations, refunds and the facilities that will be provided in the event of denied boardings, cancellations and delays on their respective websites as part of their passenger Charter of Rights. So, do check out the airline’s website.

Further, make sure you provide proper details while booking your ticket. This include the correct (check the spelling) of your email address and your mobile phone number. This is because the DGCA rules state that those who provide wrong contact information are not entitled for financial compensation.





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