What American traveler's dont know

Practical Traveler
Delayed? They’ll Put You Up
By SUSAN STELLIN
Published: July 12, 2010

When Keith Brown was stranded in Florida in April because of the volcanic ash cloud that closed European airports, he spent a week at the Westin Lake Mary near Orlando before flying home to England. But the extended holiday was not a financial burden — his airline, the British charter Thomson Airways, paid for his meals and hotel.

That’s not exactly the kind of treatment most American travelers would expect when a flight is canceled. But unlike the United States, where airlines make their own rules on how passengers are compensated when flights are delayed or canceled, the European Union requires airlines to pay penalties of up to 600 euros, or about $750, when the problem is the carrier’s fault, and cover hotel rooms and meals even when it is not.

The law, EC 261, in effect since 2005, applies to any European Union airline flying to or from a member state. But here’s a detail that American carriers would prefer their customers not know: it applies to all flights departing from the European Union, regardless of the passengers’ nationality.

That means travelers flying on American, Delta, Continental, United and US Airways from Europe to anywhere else in the world are covered by the European Union’s passenger rights laws — a fact that representatives from those airlines (except United) reluctantly confirmed, after multiple phone calls and e-mail messages.

Only Delta and American said that they have actually paid claims related to EC 261. Continental and US Airways declined to answer. United referred questions to the Air Transport Association, the trade group representing American carriers.

So the following advice comes with an important caveat: although the Transportation Department, the Air Transport Association, the European Commission and even the State Department say these rules apply to American carriers, it is not clear how willingly airlines actually pay compensation, and how effectively the rule can be enforced. Still, it is worth knowing the law and trying to pursue a claim if you are on a flight from Europe that is canceled or delayed. If you are flying on a European carrier, you’re covered both ways — something to consider the next time you book a flight to Europe.

International Flights: A Look at the Rules

Even within Europe, many people do not know about these passenger rights rules, so the European Commission recently started a publicity campaign to educate travelers about the law.

“If passengers get to the airport and something happens — a flight is delayed or canceled — they may not know what to do if they don’t fly a lot,” said Dale Kidd, a spokesman for the European Commission. “We want to ensure that travel remains a pleasant experience, because sometimes airline travel can be a bit stressful.”

The rules themselves are fairly simple. When a flight is canceled, regardless of the cause, a passenger can choose to get a refund for the unused portion of the ticket or be rerouted on another flight. If this results in an overnight stay, the airline has to pay for a hotel, meals and transportation between the hotel and the airport, even if the cancellation is due to weather or any other factor outside the airline’s control.

If the cancellation is considered within the airline’s control —such as when the plane has mechanical problems — the carrier must also pay each passenger between 125 and 600 euros, depending on the length of the flight and the delay.

For example, if you’re on a flight from Paris to New York that is canceled because of engine trouble and you’re put on another flight that lands more than four hours after your original arrival time, your compensation would be 600 euros.

Delays don’t generally qualify for financial penalties, but if you get stuck overnight — regardless of the reason — the airline has to pay for meals and a hotel. Even for some shorter delays, the carrier has to pay for meals, depending on the length of the flight and how long you’re delayed.

How to Pursue a Claim

Theoretically, airline employees should offer compensation and arrange for accommodations at the time a flight is canceled, but you can also submit a claim later if this doesn’t happen. Many European carriers have instructions on how to do this on their Web sites. British Airways, KLM and Virgin Atlantic all have clear explanations about EC 261 on their Web sites — including instructions on filing a claim.

None of the American carriers I contacted would say how passengers should go about filing a claim, but Mr. Kidd of the European Commission said: “The first place a passenger who wants to make a claim should go is the airline itself — the airlines know this.”

Since the regulation is enforced by government bodies in each member state (not by the European Commission), Mr. Kidd said that if the problem occurred on a European carrier, and the airline itself was not responsive, passengers should contact the enforcement body in the European country where the airline is based. These groups are listed on the commission’s passenger rights Web site, apr.europa.eu, and on some carriers’ sites.

“If it’s an E.U. airline, they’re bound to respect the law so you have recourse as a passenger,” Mr. Kidd said. “The majority of carriers are doing their best to comply.”

That has not always been the case, and a recent report ordered by the European Commission found that there are still problems with carriers’ avoiding paying claims.

Seeking compensation is especially challenging for passengers flying non-European airlines, since there are no enforcement agencies outside the European Union, including in the United States, although travelers can also try contacting the enforcement group in the country where the incident happened.

The Question of Compliance

Steve Lott, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, a trade group, said EC 261 has been a source of contention since it was adopted, and that carriers mostly object to the law for penalizing them for things outside of their control — especially the volcano eruption, which the group estimated cost the airline industry nearly $2 billion in lost revenue and compensation paid to passengers.

“There have been cases when somebody has paid $250 for their ticket but they’re getting $400 back in compensation,” he said, adding that the murky enforcement of the law as it applies to non-European carriers creates another point of friction.

“It’s not a level playing field,” Mr. Lott said. Because this issue gets into complex areas of international law, there are no easy answers.

“As a legal matter, we don’t challenge the authority of the European Union to regulate air transportation emanating from its territory,” said John Byerly, the deputy assistant secretary for transportation affairs at the State Department, who is involved in negotiating aviation treaties.

Although Mr. Byerly confirmed that Europe’s passenger rights regulations apply to American carriers leaving Europe, he conceded that there is no body that enforces them in the United States, creating a gap that has yet to be addressed.

“One of the areas you’ll find us talking about in the future is in the area of consumer protection,” he said.