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The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has released a sweeping Final Rule on enhancing airline passenger protections. The rule will be formally published in the Federal Register on Monday, April 25, 2011, and the requirements of the rule will go into effect 120 days thereafter (i.e., on or about August 23, 2011), with the exception of amendments to DOT's full fare advertising rule (14 CFR § 399.84), which will go into effect 180 days thereafter (i.e., on or about October 22, 2011). The pre-publication version of the rule is 213 pages long, so it is not attached, but we would be happy to send you an electronic copy if you would like to receive it.
Under the Final Rule, the following new requirements are among those that are relevant to foreign air carriers. Unless otherwise noted, these rules apply to foreign air carriers that provide scheduled passenger service (including, in some cases, code-sharing service) or public charter service to or from the United States (excluding public charter flights to/from a U.S. point where no U.S.-originating passengers will be carried) with at least one aircraft having a designed passenger seating capacity of 30 or more seats (covered foreign air carriers).
1. Tarmac delay requirements
The following DOT tarmac delay requirements will apply to covered foreign air carriers:
Covered foreign air carriers must also adopt, adhere to, and annually audit a Customer Service Plan, which addresses disclosures to consumers concerning lower available fares, notifications of delays, cancellations, and diversions, baggage delivery/mishandled baggage policies, reservations policies, refund policies, accommodations for passengers with disabilities, and other consumer rights and carrier policies (some of which are newly required under the Final Rule). Notably, the plan must include a provision allowing for reservations to be held at a quoted fare without payment, or canceled without penalty, for at least 24 hours after the reservation was made if made at least one week before departure (§ 259.5)
3. Website requirements
Each foreign air carrier that has a website marketed to U.S. consumers must post its Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays (if required), Customer Service Plan (if required), and current contract of carriage on that website (§ 259.6).
4. Addressing consumer issues and complaints
Each covered foreign air carrier will be required to:
Within 30 minutes of learning of a cancellation, a delay of 30 minutes or more, or a diversion of a scheduled flight to/from/within the United States, covered foreign air carriers must disclose that information using the following means:
With respect to scheduled foreign air transportation with aircraft that have a designed capacity of 30 or more passenger seats originating in the United States, the following changes have been made to DOT's requirements for compensation to passengers denied boarding at U.S. airports:
The following baggage allowance and fees and other fee disclosures and policies will need to be adopted:
l'articolo qui
http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/130654/Aviation/Enhancing+Airline+Passenger+Protections+Rule
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has released a sweeping Final Rule on enhancing airline passenger protections. The rule will be formally published in the Federal Register on Monday, April 25, 2011, and the requirements of the rule will go into effect 120 days thereafter (i.e., on or about August 23, 2011), with the exception of amendments to DOT's full fare advertising rule (14 CFR § 399.84), which will go into effect 180 days thereafter (i.e., on or about October 22, 2011). The pre-publication version of the rule is 213 pages long, so it is not attached, but we would be happy to send you an electronic copy if you would like to receive it.
Under the Final Rule, the following new requirements are among those that are relevant to foreign air carriers. Unless otherwise noted, these rules apply to foreign air carriers that provide scheduled passenger service (including, in some cases, code-sharing service) or public charter service to or from the United States (excluding public charter flights to/from a U.S. point where no U.S.-originating passengers will be carried) with at least one aircraft having a designed passenger seating capacity of 30 or more seats (covered foreign air carriers).
1. Tarmac delay requirements
The following DOT tarmac delay requirements will apply to covered foreign air carriers:
- Adoption of and adherence to a Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays which applies to scheduled and public charter flights at each U.S. airport at which the covered foreign air carrier operates or markets scheduled or covered public charter air service. Among other things, the plan must include an assurance that the foreign air carrier will not allow an international flight to remain on the tarmac at a U.S. airport for more than four hours without allowing passengers to deplane, subject to certain safety, security, and ATC exceptions. Notably, such plans must also be coordinated with airport authorities, CBP, and TSA at each airport the foreign air carrier serves, including diversion airports. In a code-sharing situation, the marketing carrier's plan governs if different from the operating carrier's plan, unless the marketing carrier specifies in its contract of carriage that the operating carrier's plan governs (14 CFR § 259.4).
- Monthly submission to DOT of BTS Form 244, "Tarmac Delay Report," identifying covered flights that experienced a tarmac delay of three hours or more (14 CFR Part 244).
Covered foreign air carriers must also adopt, adhere to, and annually audit a Customer Service Plan, which addresses disclosures to consumers concerning lower available fares, notifications of delays, cancellations, and diversions, baggage delivery/mishandled baggage policies, reservations policies, refund policies, accommodations for passengers with disabilities, and other consumer rights and carrier policies (some of which are newly required under the Final Rule). Notably, the plan must include a provision allowing for reservations to be held at a quoted fare without payment, or canceled without penalty, for at least 24 hours after the reservation was made if made at least one week before departure (§ 259.5)
3. Website requirements
Each foreign air carrier that has a website marketed to U.S. consumers must post its Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays (if required), Customer Service Plan (if required), and current contract of carriage on that website (§ 259.6).
4. Addressing consumer issues and complaints
Each covered foreign air carrier will be required to:
- Designate an employee who will monitor the effects of flight delays, cancellations, and lengthy tarmac delays with respect to its scheduled flights and provide input on which flights to cancel and which flights will be delayed the longest (§ 259.7(a)).
- Provide instructions to passengers on its website marketed to U.S. consumers, on e-ticket confirmations, and at each of its ticket counters and boarding gates concerning where to file a complaint about its scheduled services. If the carrier uses social networking sites but does not intend to use that site to receive complaints, consumers must similarly be directed to the appropriate forum for filing written complaints (§ 259.7(b) & (d)).
- Acknowledge in writing receipt of each passenger complaint within 30 days, and provide a substantive written response to each complaint within 60 days (§ 259.7(c)).
Within 30 minutes of learning of a cancellation, a delay of 30 minutes or more, or a diversion of a scheduled flight to/from/within the United States, covered foreign air carriers must disclose that information using the following means:
- Passenger and general public notifications (i) at the flight's boarding gate area in U.S. airports, (ii) on the carrier's website, (iii) via inquiries to the carrier's telephone reservation system, and (iv) via any flight status notification service the carrier makes available to its passengers (§ 259.8(a)).
- Updates to (i) all flight status displays and other sources of information under its control at U.S. airports, and (ii) airport-controlled display systems at U.S. airports that accept such updates from carriers (§ 259.8(b) & (c)).
With respect to scheduled foreign air transportation with aircraft that have a designed capacity of 30 or more passenger seats originating in the United States, the following changes have been made to DOT's requirements for compensation to passengers denied boarding at U.S. airports:
- For flights in foreign air transportation originating at U.S. airports, the minimum denied boarding compensation (DBC) will be increased to (i) 200% of the fare, up to US$650, if the passenger is provided alternate transportation to the first stopover or final destination that arrives more than one but less than four hours later than originally planned, or (ii) 400% of the fare, up to US$1300, if alternate transportation is not offered with an arrival to the first stopover or final destination less than four hours later than originally planned. These amounts will be adjusted for inflation every two years, starting in 2012 (14 CFR § 250.5(c)).
- DBC will apply to passengers with "zero fare" tickets, such as frequent flyer awards, based on the lowest cash, check, or credit card payment charged for a ticket in the same class of service on a given flight (§ 250.5(d)).
- When offering vouchers for free or reduced rate air transportation to passengers who voluntarily give up confirmed space on an overbooked flight, or who are involuntarily bumped and are offered such vouchers in lieu of DBC in the form of cash or a check, the carrier must first disclose all material restrictions applicable to the offer, such as administrative fees, advance purchase or capacity restrictions, and blackout dates (§§ 250.2b(c), 250.5(c) and 250.9(c)).
- Upon the effective date of this provision, only full fares may be advertised by all air carriers and agents. Government imposed taxes/fees imposed on a per-passenger basis may no longer be stated separately (except when displaying a less prominent breakdown of the charges comprising an advertised full fare) (14 CFR § 399.84(a)).
- As established under existing DOT enforcement policy, advertised "each way" fares that require a roundtrip purchase (i) may not be advertised as "one way" fares and (ii) must be accompanied by a clear, conspicuous, proximate and prominent notation that roundtrip purchase is required (§ 399.84(b)).
- In order for a carrier or its agent to add fees for optional services to an advertised total price of an air transportation related purchase, consumers must affirmatively "opt in" (agree) to each optional service (§ 399.84(c)).
- If, prior to purchasing scheduled air transportation to, from, or within the United States, there exists a potential for an increase in the full amount agreed upon by the consumer (including increases in carrier-imposed fees or government imposed taxes or fees), the seller of the air transportation must notify the consumer of, and obtain the consumer's written consent to, the potential for such a price increase prior to accepting any payment for the scheduled air transportation (14 CFR § 399.89).
- After scheduled air transportation to, from, or within the United States has been purchased, it will not be permissible to increase the price for that air transportation (including prices for seats, baggage, or fuel surcharges), except for increases in government-imposed taxes or fees if the consumer was notified of, and consented in writing to, the potential for such an increase in such government-imposed taxes or fees prior to purchasing the scheduled air transportation (14 CFR § 399.88).
The following baggage allowance and fees and other fee disclosures and policies will need to be adopted:
- If a foreign air carrier has a website that allows tickets to be purchased by the general U.S. public, the following baggage disclosures must be posted:
- Changed baggage rules (including increased fees or changes to allowances for carry-ons, first checked bags, or second checked bags) must be disclosed on the carrier's homepage for at least three months after the change takes effect (14 CFR § 399.85(a)).
- On the first screen where the carrier offers a fare quotation for a specific itinerary selected by a consumer, a clear and prominent disclosure must be made that additional airline fees for baggage may apply, identifying where these fees may be found (§ 399.85(b)).
- All carriers that sell air transportation in the United States must include information regarding the passenger's free baggage allowance and/or the applicable fee for a carry-on bag and the first and second checked bag on all e-ticket confirmations (including the summary page at the completion of an online purchase and on post-purchase e-mail confirmations) (§ 399.85(c)).
- The baggage allowances and fees that apply at the beginning of the journey of a passenger whose point of origin or destination is in the United States must apply throughout his or her entire journey. In code-sharing situations, the baggage allowances and fees of the marketing carrier must apply throughout the itinerary to the extent they differ from those of any operating carrier (14 CFR § 399.87).
- If a foreign air carrier has a website marketed to U.S. consumers where it advertises or sells air transportation, the carrier must include a conspicuous link on its homepage to a place where all optional services and related fees are disclosed, including charges for baggage, seat selections and upgrades, beverages/snacks/meals, pillows/blankets, and any other service the airline provides for a fee beyond the basic passenger air transportation. In code-sharing situations, the foreign air carrier must disclose any differences between its optional services and fees and those of the operating carrier through a conspicuous notice or hyperlink (14 CFR § 399.85(d) & (e)).
l'articolo qui
http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/130654/Aviation/Enhancing+Airline+Passenger+Protections+Rule