The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has slated the US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) proposed passenger compensation rule – yet others in the UK trade have welcomed the move.
The rule requiring airlines in the US to provide financial compensation to travellers for flight delays and cancellations – if the airline is responsible for the disruption – will raise the cost of air travel, according to Iata.
It said the 10 largest US carriers already offer meals or cash vouchers to customers during extended delays, while nine of them also offer free hotel accommodation for passengers affected by an overnight cancellation.
Willie Walsh, Iata director general, said: “Airlines work hard to get their passengers to their destinations on time and do their best to minimise the impacts of any delays.
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“The added layer of expense that this regulation will impose will not create a new incentive, but it will have to be recouped – which is likely to have an impact on ticket prices.”
Iata also argued that the regulation could raise “unrealistic expectations” among travellers that are unlikely to be met.
“Most situations would not be covered by this regulation as weather is responsible for the bulk of air travel delays and flight cancellations,” it noted.
However, Guy Novik, founder of trade-only specialist USAirtours, said: “It is a good thing, not a burden.
“Clients in the UK still have the benefit of compensation via [European flight compensation regulation] EU261 when their flights are delayed or cancelled travelling in and out of the UK.
“But clients get nothing if they’re affected within the US on a multi-stop itinerary.
“If something happens with a flight in the US, there is no equivalent compensation.
“It does involve a lot of additional work when domestic flights are cancelled, as you need to find alternatives, and clients can be out of pocket.
“It is not something that a tour operator like me will promote as a reason for booking…but it will give UK consumers extra protection if there are domestic flight cancellations.”
Clive Wratten, chief executive of the Business Travel Association (BTA), added: “As there are no federal laws requiring airlines to compensate their delayed passengers, having a structure like the EU261 would give travellers peace of mind.
“Airlines have their own individual policies regarding compensation so this structure would bring standardisation across the board.
“However, what travellers really want in a delay or cancellation is to be helped to get to their place of work as soon as possible. The financial compensation is a secondary concern if they can’t fulfil a contract, get to their meeting or event.”
Lobbying group Airlines 4 America (A4A) commented: “US airlines are fiercely competitive and focus every day on customer service because they want repeat travellers.
“US airlines have no incentive to delay or cancel a flight and do everything in their control to ensure flights depart and arrive on time — but safety is always the top priority.”
It pointed out that in 2022, more than half of flight cancellations were caused by extreme weather and so far in 2023, most flight cancellations have been because of severe weather in addition to air traffic control outages and staffing shortages during and following weather incidents.