Consumer law and 'denied boarding'

You have the right to compensation and other entitlements if you can't get on a flight because it's overbooked. This situation is called "denied boarding". It happens because the airline has sold more tickets than seats on the aircraft. The reason they do this is because they don't want to end up with empty seats.

Airlines expect people not to show up. Up to 10% of passengers don't confirm their reservations in time or check in on time, or decide for whatever reason not to travel. But on some occasions more people than expected turn up and the flight is overbooked. When you are denied boarding, the compensation you are due varies depending on the length of your intended journey.

How it works

Airlines are meant to deal with denied boarding in a particular way. Firstly they should ask passengers to volunteer not to board that flight to free up some seats. Those volunteers are entitled to compensation for not boarding. If you decide to volunteer, you first need to agree this sum with the airline, as well as an alternative flight or a refund of the ticket.

However, if there are not enough volunteers, the airline can refuse to board you. It has to give you a leaflet on the spot, outlining your rights and the amount of compensation due. These rights include compensation there and then for your inconvenience. The amount is largely determined by the length of your intended journey, as shown below:

- Up to 1,500 km: €250
- From 1,500 to 3,500 km: €400
- From 3,500+ km: €600

They should also offer you an alternative flight, or a refund of the ticket. If necessary, they must get you overnight accommodation while waiting for an alternative flight, as well as food, refreshments and reasonable access to telephone/email etc.

Exclusions
You are not entitled to compensation if you are:

Given at least two weeks' notice that your flight has been cancelled
Provided with another flight at the time of the original flight or
Denied boarding but travelling free of charge or at a reduced fare that is not available to the public.
Late at check-in: Always remember that if you have not confirmed your reservation in time or arrive at check-in later than the time stipulated, the airline can legitimately argue that you have breached your terms of the contract. If that happens, they are perfectly entitled to refuse to allow you to board, and are not obliged to offer compensation.

Upgrading and downgrading seats
Remember too that if you booked a business/first-class seat you might be denied boarding to this class because it's overbooked. But there may still be room on a lower class on the same flight. In this case they can offer to downgrade you, and once again you are entitled to compensation. This refund is a percentage of the ticket price you originally paid.

Again you should be given compensation immediately.The airline can offer you a seat in a lower class, but they must refund you:

30% of your original ticket price for flights up to 1,500 km
50% for intra-EU flights more than 1,500 kilometres and for all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km
75% for all flights greater than 3,500 km
If you are on an overbooked flight and are offered a seat in a higher class (the common term is that you are "bumped up" to this higher class), the airline cannot charge you an additional payment for this seat.

US Airways joins growing list of airlines with Wi-Fi

Today, US Airways launched Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service on five aircraft yesterday, joining eight other airlines working with wireless service provider Aircell.

US Airways plans to expand the Wi-Fi service from the initial five Airbus A321 aircraft to all 51 A321s by June 1, according to a statement from the airline and Aircell. Prices for Wi-Fi access to the Internet from a laptop, netbook or mobile device start at $4.95 for up to 90 minutes on mainland U.S. flights and will go up to $12.95 for more than three hours for a laptop or netbook.

Gogo is offered on about 700 planes, including all AirTran Airways and Virgin America flights and select Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines flights. Aircell is also working with Alaska Airlines and Continental Airlines to add Wi-Fi, with Alaska testing Gogo on one plane, and Continental expected to go live in the summer, a spokeswoman said.

Initially, US Airways will put a Wi-Fi symbol on the outside of a Gogo-equipped plane to alert passengers, along with displaying the symbol throughout the cabin. By late June, passengers will be able to tell whether Wi-Fi is available on a specific flight when booking travel online.

First-time Gogo users get one free session through June 1, and from June 1 to June 8 free access will be available to everyone onboard a Wi-Fi-equipped flight.

New franchise between Aer Lingus and Aer Arann

Aer Lingus started it's first regional flight today as the franchise agreement between Aer Arann, Ireland’s regional airline, and Aer Lingus, the national carrier, began on 12 routes from Dublin and Cork.

There will be 12 routes, 6 of which will operate from Dublin to the UK, with the remaining 6 serving the UK and France from Cork. The new route network increases frequency on busy business and leisure services between Dublin and both Glasgow and Edinburgh, while also offering direct connectivity from a number of UK regions to Aer Lingus trans-Atlantic services.

3 new routes will be among the 12; Dublin to Doncaster-Sheffield; Dublin to Durham Tees Valley, and Cork to Glasgow. The remaining 9 routes are services that were previously operated by either Aer Arann or Aer Lingus. There are also several domestic low cost flights in Ireland.

At Dublin Airport today for the first departures was Aer Arann Chief Executive Paul Schütz who welcomed the franchise agreement saying;

“With our franchise partner we have created a product that offers a customer-focussed schedule with increased frequency and both regional and trans-Atlantic connectivity. The additional flights on existing routes combined with new direct services linking regional centres in the UK with Ireland offers a significant boost to both business and the tourism industry at a time when it is badly needed.

Our combined brand power and quality products make it an excellent service for passengers and we look forward to welcoming both new and existing Aer Arann and Aer Lingus customers on board our flights from today”, he continued.

The Aer Lingus Regional service is operated by Aer Arann ATR 72-500 aircraft and crew. All franchise flights are sold and distributed through aerlingus airline website .

The new agreement significantly increases Aer Lingus presence in the Ireland-UK market including services to Ireland from Bristol, Blackpool, Cardiff, Doncaster/Sheffield, Durham, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

In addition to the UK routes, new seasonal services from Cork to Jersey in the Channel Islands and La Rochelle in France will begin operating in May.

This agreement try to lower the importance of the low cost airline Ryanair, who is the market leader in Ireland. For the moment, Ryanair did not commented this news.