Bumping: Tell the DOT How You Really Feel
New suitcase, $142.
Cab to the airport, $45.
Not being allowed to board a flight you hold a ticket for, priceless.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is seeking public comment on possible changes, including compensation, to the rules governing airline oversales, or "bumping." Here's your chance to comment on several proposals that could change the compensation totals airlines are required to provide ticketed passengers left behind.
Bumping: A Brief History
The bumping rules were first adopted in 1962 to balance the rights of passengers with the needs of air carriers to minimize the effect of passengers with reservations who do not take their flight. When a flight is oversold, the airline must first seek volunteers who are willing to give up their seats in return for compensation offered by the airline. The airline may bump passengers involuntarily if not enough of them volunteer, and these passengers are eligible for cash compensation in most circumstances. The rule applies to passengers bumped from an oversold flight that departs without them, not to those affected by delayed or canceled flights.
Bumping: Current Rules
Under the current rule, if the airline can arrange alternate transportation scheduled to arrive at the passenger's destination within two hours of the planned arrival time of the oversold flight, or four hours on international flights, the compensation is the amount of the fare to the passenger's destination with a $200 maximum. If the airline cannot meet these deadlines, the amount of compensation doubles, with a $400 maximum. These payments are in addition to the value of the passenger's ticket, which the passenger can use for alternate transportation or have refunded if not used. There are occasions when airlines are not required to pay compensation, for example, where the passenger is provided alternate transportation scheduled to arrive at the passenger's destination within one hour of the planned arrival time of the oversold flight.
Further information on the Department's bumping rule is available at DOT's Air Consumer site.
Bumping: Show Me the Money
The DOT is seeking comment on the following five proposals:
Comments on the Department's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking are due in 60 days. The notice is available on the DOT site as Document OST-2001-9325-1. To read the document, scroll to the bottom of the page to download. To comment, click on menu bar Comment/Submissions. Registration is optional, click "Continue." Docket ID is 9325, Operating Admin is OST. Complete form, click "Continue" to reach the next comment page, and type away. (The DOT never said this would be easy.)
What do thinking of current bumping practices and compensation? Tell us here.
Comments
I think that the limits for bumping should be eliminated. Also the compensation should be the following: Increasing the $200 compensation limit to $624 and the $400 limit to $1,248
Posted by: stephen gardner | July 20, 2007 7:28 PM
I beleive that doubling the rates in effect at this time would tend to slow down the airlines "bumping" It is a total inconvenience to the person flying and to the family and freinds awaiting the person at tha destination. I am all for increasing the allowance to $624 and $1,248 I cannot beleive the airlines would be so inconsiderate with their passengers. As it is now the security situation I can understand because we all want to feel safe when flying, but bumping to me is the airline taking advantage of the public to satisfy its own need. What about the need of the passengers that travel for business, i recently traveled for business and none of my flights were even on time some had a 2 and half hour delay.
Posted by: Felix Rodriguez | July 21, 2007 2:06 PM
I believe that the bumping limits should be eliminated, or at least moved to the highest dollar option. Two reasons. 1) The price of the tickets are such that $200 is insulting anyway. United bumped me and couldn't get me home for 2.5 days. They offered me $300 but it took me $900 to get home on another carrier since United had nothing else and they refused to pay another carrier's fees (why should they when they only had to give me a few hundred). 2) Becuase there is such low concequences to bumping airlines have made a daily business practice of it. These fees were put in place with the understanding that the airlines would do what they could to avoid bumping. Today they oversell almost every flight and double sell some flights just to save themselves a few bucks. The fee to fare ratio is so off now that it is more economical for them to screw half their customers. When you get to the front of a 90 minute customer service line they have heard it all countless times before, every single day, and say things like "every airline does is" and "thats just the way the industry works". That needs to be changed and it is not going to be changed by the airlines themselves.
Posted by: Troy Emet | July 23, 2007 6:46 AM