Ticket payment: they want to make payments to passengers for overbooking mandatory
They want to make fixed compensation — from 25% to 100% of the ticket price — mandatory for transfers to other flights in case of overbooking. A bill on its legalization is being prepared by the Ministry of Transport, Izvestia learned. An exception is planned to be made for parents with children, military personnel flying to their duty station, persons accompanying people with disabilities, and transit passengers. The draft amendments to the Air Code may be submitted for public discussion as early as early June.
Why do they want to legalize overbooking
The fact that the Ministry of Transport is preparing to legalize overbooking was told to Izvestia by several sources present at a closed meeting of the Public Council under the Ministry, held on April 22. Representatives of the department there reported that the Ministry of Transport, together with air carriers, is developing draft amendments to the Russian Air Code containing the legal concept of overbooking and details for its application.
The amendments will allow airlines to legally refuse passengers departure and transfer them to other flights when overbooking, but subject to a number of conditions. Exceptions will be made for several categories of passengers who will be prohibited from being removed from flights: parents with children, disabled people and their accompanying persons, military personnel traveling to their duty station, as well as passengers with tickets for connecting flights, said one of the interlocutors of Izvestia present at the meeting.
Business travelers, for whom overbooking can be critical due to missing important events, may not be included in the protected categories of passengers, said Ilya Zotov, Deputy Chairman of the Public Council at the Ministry of Transport, Chairman of the All-Russian Passenger Association.
According to the participants in the discussion, the remaining passengers will be allowed to transfer, but the principle of voluntariness must be respected, that is, a person must be asked for consent to fly on another flight. In addition, compensation is provided for overbooking.
As Anna Khomyakova, Director of Aeroflot's Legal department, noted at the meeting, the compensation scale may depend on the hours of flight delay: one to two hours, two to six hours, 6-12 hours and 12-24 hours.
— The developers of the bill propose that passengers be compensated from 25% to 100%, depending on the delay in departure, including the guaranteed retention of the original flight route. There are no compensations now, and this issue needs to be resolved in the interests of passengers," Ilya Zotov said. — These are not the final figures, and they can be adjusted. Automation of compensation payments is also being discussed so that their receipt is prompt (at the airport of departure) and convenient for the passenger.
If passengers were taken off a flight operated by an airline less than once a day, the compensation will amount to 200%, Anna Khomyakova noted. To avoid conflicts, air carriers should have a separate staff to identify passengers who are ready to reschedule flights. According to her, there are always people willing to go later.
The participants in the discussion also expressed a number of concerns. The first concerns artificial overbooking, when an airline intentionally sells more tickets for popular flights, and then transfers people to less popular ones. This mechanism increases the occupancy of the seats. The developers of the bill clarified that carriers are liable for abuse. If by the end of the year the number of passengers transferred from one flight to another exceeds the limit set by the Ministry of Transport, then next year it is proposed to deprive the airline of the opportunity to use overbooking.
As Dmitry Zverev, Deputy head of the Ministry of Transport, noted at the meeting, overbooking can only be implemented on a voluntary basis. For the state, it is beneficial because it will increase air mobility with a limited fleet of aircraft. There is a lot of demand, and even a 5% increase in air transportation is a serious gain.
The Ministry of Transport told Izvestia that the bill is in the works and it is premature to comment on the details of its provisions. The editorial board sent inquiries to the airline.
How much do they pay for overbooking abroad
—Overbooking has been successfully used abroad for a long time, but it is still outside the legal framework, but it is actually used by airlines, which causes problems for passengers," Ilya Zotov said. — The point of overbooking is that it allows you to increase aircraft occupancy and increase the aviation mobility of the population.
Airlines analyze ticket sales in various destinations and, based on the statistics of flight cancellations in the past period, predict the load on future flights. Usually, from 5% to 10% of passengers refuse tickets before departure, the expert added. Additional tickets are sold in advance for this number of seats. This is overarmoring, but the system sometimes malfunctions, and two people come to one place. Then the "extra" passengers are put in business class or sent on another flight with considerable compensation.
According to Ilya Zotov, there is another overbooking option, which is caused by the technical conditions of the flight, when instead of a large airliner, it is replaced by a smaller aircraft. Then the question arises how to find a solution where all passengers will receive an acceptable solution.
—Overbooking has long been regulated in Europe and the United States by legislation and aviation regulations that protect the interests of passengers and prevent airlines from abusing it," Andrey Patrakov, founder of the RunAvia flight safety service and aviation expert, told Izvestia. — Some passengers even consider themselves lucky to get to overbooking and receive compensation of €700 for postponing departure a few hours later, especially if the ticket was purchased under the promotion for €30.
In Russia, it is necessary to ensure that compensation for overbooking motivates passengers to fly on another flight and demotivates airlines to abuse this practice, the expert clarifies.
"Introducing overbooking into the legal field will help protect the rights of passengers," said Roman Gusarov, editor—in—chief of the <url> portal, aviation expert. — The ideal option is when the passenger appoints himself as superfluous. In Europe, it is sometimes announced before departure that 10 people can take off a couple of hours later for compensation of up to €200. Money or coupons to Duty Free stores are paid out immediately. Unsurprisingly, many more people than required are responding to this offer.
The All-Russian Association of Passengers believes that compensation for overbooking should be at least 100% of the cost of the flight, of course, subject to the mandatory condition of the passenger's voluntary consent, Ilya Zotov added.
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