What are your rights when you fly?
— -- There's the Bill of Rights, and Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, and the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But what about your "rights" when you fly? Do you have any, really? What recourse do you have when something goes bump in the flight? You might be surprised to learn that even though the U.S. D.O.T. has recently announced some new passenger regulations, there are probably fewer than you think, and your rights vary depending on the country you're flying within or from. Here's a rundown.
Bumping (involuntary denied boarding), domestic flights, U.S.
Scenario: The airline sells more fares than it has seats on your flight. Someone's got to stay behind and that someone is you.
Recourse: You may be entitled to cash compensation. If you're bumped from a flight and the airline rebooks you to arrive an hour or less from your original arrival time, there's no compensation. Two to four hours, you are entitled to as much as $650 (the actual amount will be up to 200% of the applicable one-way fare); over four hours, up to $1,300 or 400% of the one-way fare. You're entitled to receive payment in cash. Do not accept a travel voucher since these often come with restrictions and extra hassle. Take the money and run.
Bumping, international flights from the U.S.
Scenario: You're bumped from a flight from the U.S. to a foreign airport.
Recourse: Same compensation levels, but the lower amount applies to arriving one to four hours after your original time and the higher amount to over four hours.
Taxiway/Runway delays
Scenario: You're stuck on the plane for more than three hours before takeoff or upon landing.
Recourse: You have the right to request to deplane after your domestic flight has been delayed on the taxiway (a.k.a., the "tarmac") or runway for more than three hours; or four hours if it's an international flight. This doesn't mean that you'll actually get off the plane (there are a few loopholes in the regulation).
Delayed flights
Scenario: You're off to a wedding, an important meeting, or Uncle Sid's funeral, but your flight is delayed for hours or canceled and you're not going to arrive in time, so why go at all?
Recourse: Why go on a "futile" trip? Under most airlines' contracts of carriage ( see links to these, under some circumstances, even if you're flying on a non-refundable ticket, you can tell the airline to take a hike and get your money and ancillary fees back. Delta, for example, stipulates in its contract that "in the event of flight cancellation, diversion, delays of greater than 90 minutes, or delays that will cause a passenger to miss connections, Delta will (at passenger's request) cancel the remaining ticket and refund the unused portion of the ticket." Most airlines have a "Rule 260" or similar in their contracts covering this situation ( read more about this).
Canceled flights
Scenario: Your flight is canceled.
Recourse: There's no government regulation that applies. Before airlines were deregulated, there was one, however. It was called Rule 240 and you can still see it in some airlines' contracts of carriage, although it's often observed more in the breach than the practice these days. It states that your original airline will attempt to rebook you on a competing airline's next flight out if that flight will get you to your destination sooner.
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