The United States Changes the Rules of the Game

"Landep News"

The United States Changes the Rules of the Game

New rules for booking flight tickets came into force In the last days of January from the United States’ Department of Transportation (also known as DOT). The goal, according to a press release from DOT is to help ensure that passengers are treated fairly when traveling by air.

What changes were made?

The new provisions include the requirement that airlines and travel agencies include all taxes and mandatory fees when advertising flight prices, provision which took effect on 26 January.

“Airline passengers have rights, and they should be able to expect fair and reasonable treatment when booking a trip and when they fly,” said the Secretary of Transportation of the United States, Ray LaHood. Changes in the rules are “a continuation of our effort to help air travelers receive the respect they deserve.”

In addition, from January 24 many provisions went into effect. First, passengers are able to hold a reserve without making a payment for 24 hours, or cancel a reservation without penalty within 24 hours after purchase, provided that the reservation is made with at least one week prior to the departure of the flight.

It also calls for airlines to immediately notify passengers of flight delays of more than 30 minutes, in addition to flight cancellations and diversions. In general, it is prohibited to increase the price of a ticket once the passenger has completed a purchase, with exceptions when mandatory government taxes increase.

When a customer buys a ticket online, the airlines and travel agencies, as well as all other sites selling flight tickets, will be required to indicate the additional costs which will be incurred for baggage. The first screen that shows the rate for a specific itinerary must show whether there will be additional baggage fees, and tell consumers where they can check these rates. The baggage fees information should also appear in the E-ticket confirmation, and for most cases, the same provision of travel luggage must be valid for the full itinerary of the passenger.

Other previously announced measures are in effect from August 23, 2011, as the requirement that luggagefees are to be reimbursed in case of loss of luggage; and the increase in compensations for passengers who are denied boarding in oversold flights.

Also in August, the DOT put a limit of four hours of delays at the track for all international flights to U.S. airports, and extended the delay limit of three hours for domestic flights to smaller airports. Also since then airlines are required to report their most extensive delays to DOT.

For the future it is planned that the airline’s optional fees will have to appear in all computer screens where consumers can book a flight, strengthening the disclosure of code-share flights and requesting the transport companies to send performance reports on time.

How do these changes benefit travellers?

The clear indication of the total price tariffs should avoid misleading promises, for example, $ 99 flights to London, which once you go to the purchase screen climb to $ 900 should be history. Same for the one way fare, based on the purchase of a round-trip flight for which now the total price must be displayed from the beginning.

It will also prevent additional costs to be added without the consent of the buyer. Renting a car or hiring travel insurance were, in the past, automatically included in the booking process and left to the discretion of the purchaser to identify these products added and remove them from the cart. Today this is no longer possible, the products can be offered, but only the buyer can add products to the flight purchase.

As a travel agent said, “it’s basically leveling the playing field” giving consumers the full story from the time of booking. There is still much room for improvement when it comes to passenger’s rights but, in the United States, the DOT has taken the first steps.

Thank's for link:

Tweet