On getting stuck at airports
The author of one of my favorite legal blogs, Patterico's Pontifications, is stuck in Atlanta. He originally purchased tickets to fly with his family from DFW to LAX on a non-stop AirTran flight. Well, the non-stop was changed to a connection in Atlanta, and then the fun began. The flight out of DFW was delayed due to a mechanical, causing a misconnect in ATL. AirTran says that they can't get him out to LAX for THREE DAYS. And they won't pay for any meals or lodging.
Now, in the good ol' days (20+ years ago), there would have been FAA regulations covering this situation. Not anymore. Some airlines have incorporated certain "rights" of the passenger into their Contract of Carriage, including the right to have the ticket endorsed over to another airline. However, Patterico is flying AirTran, which has no such provisions in its CoC.
My suggestion, and it's a weighty one - go online to the airline's website and download/read the CoC for the airline you plan to fly on. If their terms don't fit your needs, DON'T FLY THEM. It is very much a "caveat emptor" world nowdays. Yes, a LCC (low cost carrier) may have the cheapest price for a ticket, but there are a lot of potential "gotchas" in the deal. When you buy a ticket, you are agreeing to the airline's CoC, not what you think they might owe you. In general, the Big 6 airlines (AA, UA, DL, NW, CO, US) have decent passenger service rights in their CoC. I can't speak to Alaska, but I would assume they do as well. The LCC's may be another world entirely - it sure seems that AirTran is, now that I have read their CoC.
You have only yourself to protect you. Be informed. Or drop me a line and I'll try to point you to some answers.
Now, in the good ol' days (20+ years ago), there would have been FAA regulations covering this situation. Not anymore. Some airlines have incorporated certain "rights" of the passenger into their Contract of Carriage, including the right to have the ticket endorsed over to another airline. However, Patterico is flying AirTran, which has no such provisions in its CoC.
My suggestion, and it's a weighty one - go online to the airline's website and download/read the CoC for the airline you plan to fly on. If their terms don't fit your needs, DON'T FLY THEM. It is very much a "caveat emptor" world nowdays. Yes, a LCC (low cost carrier) may have the cheapest price for a ticket, but there are a lot of potential "gotchas" in the deal. When you buy a ticket, you are agreeing to the airline's CoC, not what you think they might owe you. In general, the Big 6 airlines (AA, UA, DL, NW, CO, US) have decent passenger service rights in their CoC. I can't speak to Alaska, but I would assume they do as well. The LCC's may be another world entirely - it sure seems that AirTran is, now that I have read their CoC.
You have only yourself to protect you. Be informed. Or drop me a line and I'll try to point you to some answers.
posted by Cruising Don at
1/03/2006 02:07:00 PM
1 Comments:
Involuntary "bumping" aka "Involuntary Denied Boarding is different than missing your flight, for whatever reason. IDB happens when a) you are there, checked in for the flight, b) there isn't a seat for you on the flight and c) the flight leaves without you.
Yes, your situation seems to you to be like IDB, but in that case, all cancellations would be IDB and that just isn't so.
I REALLY sympathize with you, and wish there was something I could do. Try the AirTran forum at FlyerTalk (see sidebar) and maybe someone there can give you some better info. I don't fly F9 (AirTran's code), so I'm giving general advice. Those who frequent the AirTran forum know the airline far better than I.
By
Cruising Don, at Tue Jan 03, 11:55:00 PM PST
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