Recently, two rule changes improved the lives of international travelers. One will help fliers stuck in airports within or on their way to the European Union -- once the EU gets around to explaining when the rule applies. The other, an obscure fare rule change, will make some expensive international tickets cheaper (especially in business class.)
The more exciting change will help anyone stuck waiting for a delayed flight in Europe. The EU now has the world's most generous rules for dealing with delayed and cancelled flights.
Even better news for US-based travelers: the rules apply even to non-EU airlines, as long as you're stuck in an EU airport. They also apply at non-EU airports, if you're flying into the EU on an EU airline -- so, say, if you're flying from New York to Paris on Air France.
The rules apply to scheduled, charter, low-fare and full-service carriers. If you're flying on a code share -- say, an Air France flight "operated" by Delta -- the rules apply based on who's on your ticket, not the name on the side of the plane.
If a flight is delayed more than 2 hours (for flights under 1,500 km), more than 3 hours (for flights under 3,500 km) or more than 4 hours (for longer flights outside the EU), the airline must provide food, phones, and a hotel room if the delay runs overnight. If a flight is delayed more than five hours, the airline must offer to refund tickets and fly passengers back to their points of origin at no charge, if they're stuck in transit.
If you're re-routed because of a delay or cancellation, you can get up to €125 for flights below 1,500 km or where you were delayed by 2 hours; €200 for flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km where you were delayed by 3 hours; and up to €300 for flights over 3,500 km outside the EU where you were delayed by 4 hours. (You can't get back more than the price of your ticket.)
There is, of course, a catch. The delayed-flight rules don't apply in case of "extraordinary circumstances," and nobody has clearly defined "extraordinary circumstances." Airlines are arguing that bad weather and air-traffic-control delays are always an "extraordinary circumstance." Be prepared to have to complain, fight, and complain some more to get your compensation. If you have problems getting compensation, e-mail tren-aprights@cec.eu.int.
If a flight is cancelled for a reason under the airline's control (for example, they couldn't find a crew for the plane), passengers must be paid the same amounts as if they were denied boarding, unless they were told of the cancellation more than two weeks in advance or they're put on another flight that gets them to their destination within a few hours of their original time.
If a cancellation, for any reason, delays you five hours or more, the airline must offer you your choice of a refund, alternative transportation, or meals, a hotel room (if the delay is overnight) and communications facilities while you wait for the next flight. The airline must pay you by cash, bank transfer or check -- it can only give you travel vouchers if you allow it.
These rules apply even in case of weather delays or mechanical problems. That's in stark contrast to US rules on delays and cancellations, which offer no protection against weather-related delays.
If you're bumped off a flight against your will, the airline must pay you €250 for flights shorter than 1,500 km, €400 for flights up to 3,500 km, and €600 for longer flights outside the EU.
You can also claim up to €1,180 for damage to baggage and up to €4,897 for other problems, for instance if your company loses business because of a flight delay. Be prepared to provide proof -- receipts, letters, and documents -- showing the validity of your claim. Issue your claim at first to the airline; if it refuses your claim, you have the right to go to an EU court.
Airlines have appealed the new regulations to a European court, complaining that the new rules are too burdensome. So these benefits may not last too long. But for now, they're in force.
IATA Makes Tickets Cheaper
The other change will make some international tickets cheaper, though it won't affect the super-discounted transatlantic flights that most Americans buy. On Jan. 15, the International Air Transport Association changed the rules airlines use to sell tickets. Formerly, if you were buying a ticket outside of its country of origin -- say, you were buying a ticket from Paris to Rome from a travel agent in New Orleans -- you might be forced be forced to pay extra. That's not the case any more.
Other rules, called the Directional Minimum Check and Higher Intermediate Point, brought down the price of full-fare, international one-way tickets and international tickets with stopovers.
The new rule will mostly affect business travelers traveling on full, published fares, or in first or business class. Rock-bottom discount fares already don't usually vary based on the country they're sold in. Neither do the fares charged by Europe's low-fare, no-frills airlines. And it'll often require a crafty travel agent to take advantage of new tricks like booking two one-way international tickets instead of a round-trip.
Leisure travelers might see some gains if they're using a human or online travel agent to try to book tickets between two countries that they're not in at the time -- say, if you ask a New York travel agent or Expedia.com to get you a one-way from Beirut to Baku. The new rules might also reduce the difference in prices between US and European travel agents that we wrote about late last November.
With the worldwide spread of low-fare airlines that allow anyone in the world to book directly through their websites or over the phone, though, we've already seen fewer people running into the country-of-origin price barriers.
Leisure travelers also should note what the IATA rule doesn't require. Travel agents can still refuse to sell to whomever they want, within the boundaries of the law -- so there's no requirement that European websites accept American credit cards, for instance. And airlines can still choose to give better fares to one travel agent than to another -- so if a European airline has a preferential deal with Opodo, you're still not going to find their best fares on Orbitz.
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