Tesla Bethel
Lantern Staff
Considering everything going on with United Airlines, I figured it would be a good time to talk about what a person’s rights are in regards to air travel. Now, overbooking is not illegal. In fact, a lot of airlines do this to a certain degree in order to compensate for potential “no shows.” They have to make money somehow.
The U.S. Department of Transportation helps to explain the rights of passengers, especially in the case of no “no shows” leading to a lack of seats. If this is the case, then the airline must make “bumps” to certain passengers, so the plane can continue on its general path.
There are two different ways that being bumped can go. First, the airline will ask for volunteers, and occasionally someone willingly gives up their spot for another passenger. When one does this, in some cases, they will receive compensation for the inconvenience, but if a person decides to volunteer, there are two important questions one should ask prior. 1) When can the airline confirm them a seat? If the airline puts you on standby for the next flight, it might also be overbooked. Getting stranded is then a higher possibility. 2) Will the airline provide other amenities such as free meals, hotel stay and transport between the hotel and the airport? If not, this is extra money coming out of the volunteer’s pocket.
When someone gets bumped involuntarily, the Department of Transportation requires all airlines to give the passenger who was involuntarily bumped a piece of paper stating their rights are as well as an explanation of how they pick and choose who stays and who goes. However, if one does get involuntarily bumped, they are qualified to compensation.
This compensation comes in either a check or cash and varies in amount depending on the passenger’s delay. A passenger will not receive compensation if the airline gets one onto another flight with connections within one hour later of their original arrival time toward their given destination. If the substituted transportation takes over one hour, but less than or equal to two in domestic flights, and less than or equal to four on international flights, the passenger is entitled to compensation of about 200 percent of their one-way fare to the final destination that day with a maximum compensation of $675.
If it arrives later than the two hours for domestic or four hours for international flights, then the airline compensation doubles to 400 percent with a maximum of $1,350. That is a pretty decent chunk of change, but also a huge delay on a passenger’s vacation.
However, all of this is only eligible if the passenger reserved their flight and confirmed their reservation. The passenger also has to meet the check-in deadlines for the flights. This usually is 10-30 minutes prior to departure, but some deadlines can be longer. If they miss the check-in deadline or a reservation confirmation or both, they are no longer entitled to that compensation.
Rights are important to understand, especially in the case of United. Because it used to be United we stand, now it’s United we fall, and get dragged off the aircraft, which is all around just an unpleasant experience.
