SAVVY FLYER: Your right for compensation when kicked off your airplane or rescheduled

Tuning in to Gary over at View from the Wing for some important airline consumer knowledge:

Sometimes an airline will call you up — several days in advance – and try to move you to another flight. Uusally that’s because the flight you are on is overbooked and they’re trying o handle things before everyone gets to the airport.

Do you have to accept being moved? What rights do you have?

• Normally in an oversell situation an airline makes offers at the airport to potential volunteers. Sometimes they’ll continually up the offer until they have enough volunteers that will take another flight so that everyone that’s confirmed for the flight gets to fly.
• If there aren’t enough volunteers (and this can be because the airline doesn’t offer enough compensation) then they have to involuntarily deny boarding to some passengers. And the compensation to the displaced passengers for that is set by government rule.
• If the airline calls you and asks you to take another flight you may do so but you do not have to agree.
• The the airline offers you something in advance they might get you toagree.
• If you still decline, and the airline says you have no choice, then it’s an involuntary denied boarding — and you’re entitled to that compensation, even if it all happens over the phone in advance rather than at the airport.

So how much is the compensation for an involuntary denied boarding?

U.S. Domestic flights.

• If the airline puts you on another flight that gets you to your destination within an hour of the scheduled arrival time of your original flight, then no compensation.
• If they’ll get you there in less than two hours, they owe you 200% of the one-way fare of your original flight, up to $650.
• If they’ll get you there in more than two hours they owe you 400% of the one-way fare of your original flight, up to $1,300.

U.S. departures for international airports.

• If the airline puts you on another flight that gets you to your destination within an hour of the scheduled arrival time of your original flight, then no compensation.
• If they’ll get you there in less than four hours, they owe you 200% of the one-way fare of your original flight, up to $650.
• If they’ll get you there in more than four hours they owe you 400% of the one-way fare of your original flight, up to $1,300.

The rules require cash payments, not airline credits. And this applies to involuntary denied boarding due to an oversell, not a change of equipment or other similar reasons.

 

Definitely good to know information. Check out Gary’s blog post for more updates as he awaits what the “compensation” is for award flights (if any).