European law could ‘compromise low fares and safety’

Friday, 25 Oct, 2002 0

Airlines are against a move by the European Parliament to introduce five-fold increases in compensation for passengers denied boarding.

In a plenary session yesterday, the Parliament voted in favour of a law increasing compensation. Ryanair and easyJet said the law penalised no-frills carriers because the pay out does not reflect ticket price.

An easyJet statement said: “This means that a fat cat travelling business class on British Airways for £500 would be given the same compensation for a European flight as someone who had paid £10 on easyJet”.

A Ryanair spokesperson said airlines would be paying for the mistakes of others. He said: “It is ludicrous to suggest that airlines should compensate passengers for the failings of others, most notably UK and other ATCs, which have been the cause of most cancellations this summer.”

Ryanair also argued that the legislation could compromise safety, if airlines were persuaded to fly in unsafe weather conditions to avoid cancellation charges.

Many traditional schedule carriers are also against the move. A British Airways spokesperson said it already had a fair compensation system, and would be lobbying Parliament through the Association of European Airlines.

When airlines over-book flights, and all passengers turn up, some passengers are bumped onto a later flight. The European average is about 11 passengers in every 10,000 bumped off.

In January 2002, the Commission proposed compensation of £472 for passengers bumped off shorthaul flights (under 3,500km), instead of the current £94. For longhaul flights (over 3,500km) they suggested £943, which is five times the current level.

However, a Transport Commission spokesperson told TravelMole that the majority of Transport ministers favoured lower compensation. They proposed £189 for shorthaul flights (under 1000km), £377 for medium haul (between 1,000km and 3,500km), and £566 for longhaul. The issue will be voted on during the next Transport Council, on 5 December.