For decades, airlines just about everywhere have been resisting government-mandated passenger rights regulations. Despite the fact that the airlines brought on themselves many of the regulations they hate; they’ve had a remarkably deaf ear for customer pain points. That struggle has been ongoing for years both in the U.S. and abroad.
But now some airlines are using the financial squeeze of the global COVID-19 shutdown to ask for “relief” from those legal requirements like providing refunds for canceled flights, or compensation for lengthy delays. Those terms are mandated by the European Union, but impact flights operating elsewhere, too.
What the E.U. Has Long Required of Airlines
The primary current target is European Union’s Regulation EU 261/2004 for passenger compensation in case of delays. A rule called E.U. 261 has long required covered airlines to compensate travelers by cash payments of:
about $275 for a delay of two hours or more; on a flight of less than 930 milesabout $435 for a delay of three hours or more; on a flight of 930 to 5,600 milesabout $650 for a delay of four hours or more; on a flight of 2,175 miles or more
In addition, airlines are required to provide accommodations for overnight delays. And if a flight is delayed five hours or more, travelers have the option of a refund of all unused tickets and of tickets already used if the flight no longer serve’s any purpose. That’s on top of a no-cost return to the passenger’s origin point.
Airlines sometimes avoid some of the payments if they can provide proof that the delay or cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances, but those exceptions are rare. E.U. 261 applies not just to flights within the E.U., but also flights from E.U. to and from points outside the E.U., regardless of where the given airline is based.
What E.U. Airlines Are Trying to Change Now
The current proposal is to lengthen the delay times that trigger compensation from two, three, and four hours to five, nine, and 12 hours, respectively, and to exclude some routes entirely. It’s also been reported that some airlines want more wiggle room to avoid payments. The latter proposal, submitted by Croatia, is viewed locally as a compromise.
Most travelers in the U.S. probably aren’t aware of the E.U. 261’s compensation requirements, or that it can apply to them. U.S. domestic air travelers have no comparable protections at at home: The only cash compensation rules in the U.S. cover the singular case of bumping due to overbooking. What U.S. travelers get in other delays and cancellations is determined by each line’s contract of carriage, and no airline offers cash compensation for delays. (The DOT does require refunds for canceled flights, however, for any flights
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Walking tours, don’t you know, may be the best way to see the world. The pace is slow, the better to take in all the new sights and sounds around you. You can savor the landscape, the architecture, and the people you encounter, just as you delight in the food and wine that invariably follows a day on foot. There are no crowds, no lines, no delays. Just a quieter way to travel. Here are five new walking trips for 2024 — in Scotland, Croatia, Spain, the Canadian Rockies and the French Alps — all terrific ways to see the world at a slower pace.
The first time I went to Croatia was in 2017. I was on a week-long winter break trip before I would return to London to start my final semester of university. My friend and I stayed in the capital, Zagreb. We hiked through snow-capped trees, went to markets in the city center, and even took a day trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia’s largest national park and a UNESCO site. After that trip, I knew I had to visit the country again.
With its dense tapestry of cultures and landscapes, India feels like dozens of countries rolled into one, but a single visa will cover you for travel across more than three million square kilometers of territory, taking in everything from steamy jungles to the high passes of the Himalayas.
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Update from IHG, including effect date for new prices: “All reservations booked beginning Jan. 16, 2018, will use the new Reward Nights point prices. This is part of an annual review into the number of points needed for a Reward Night, and we’ll communicate to members through our regular channels, including email and our website.”
In the days after Britons voted in favor of leaving the European Union, England seems to be learning a lot about itself—and not in the way you’d hope. The social media hashtag #PostRefRacism emerged this week to highlight increased public expressions of racism in the U.K., ranging from xenophobic graffiti and verbal threats to public harassment.
Pilots from Southwest and American Airlines are rallied at the White House today in the hopes of blocking Norwegian Air’s planned expansion in the U.S., reports the Dallas Business Journal.