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Rule 240 Revisited
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Airline |
Coach? |
First Class? |
And we quote…. |
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Air Tran |
No |
No |
Not applicable |
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Alaska |
Yes |
Yes (amazingly, yes) |
“If acceptable to the passenger, [Carrier will] provide transportation on another airline's direct flight, or combination of connecting carriers … in the same or higher class [emphasis ours] of service on the passenger's ticket at no additional charge.” |
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American |
No |
No |
“When cancellations and major delays are experienced, you will be rerouted on our next flight with available seats. If the delay or cancellation was caused by events within our control and we do not get you to your final destination on the expected arrival day, we will provide reasonable overnight accommodations, subject to availability.” |
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Continental |
Under some circum-stances |
Yes on CO only |
“CO will transport the Passenger on its own flights, subject to availability, to the Destination in the same class of service, at no additional cost to the Passenger, provided that a Passenger who paid a Coach fare will only be transported on a flight in First Class or Business First Class Service subject to seat availability and if such flight will provide an earlier arrival than CO’s next flight on which coach space is available; Reroute Passengers over the lines of one or more carriers when a Change in Schedule results in the cancellation of all CO service between two cities.”
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Delta |
Maybe |
Maybe |
“At our sole discretion, we may arrange for your travel on another carrier or via ground transportation.” |
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Frontier |
Yes (if arrival delayed 4 hours or more) |
Only on Frontier |
“If the delay or misconnection is caused by Frontier, Frontier will transport the passenger without stopover on its next available flight in the same or higher booking class, at no additional cost to the passenger. If Frontier is unable to provide onward transportation that arrives within four hours of the passenger’s original itinerary, or at the passenger’s request, Frontier will arrange for the passenger’s transportation on another carrier or combination of carriers with whom Frontier has agreements for such transportation.” |
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Hawaiian |
Yes |
Yes |
“If the carrier causing such delay, or in the case of misconnection the original receiving carrier(s) is unable to provide onward transportation acceptable to the passenger, any other carrier or combination of connecting carriers, at the request of the passenger will transport the passenger … in the same class of service as the passenger's original outbound flight; or if space is available on a flight(s) of a different class of service acceptable to the passenger, such flight(s) will be used … only if it (they) will provide an earlier arrival at the passenger's destination.” |
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JetBlue |
No |
No |
“Whenever Carrier cancels or otherwise fails to operate any scheduled flight, Carrier will, at the request of the Passenger either transport the Passenger on another of Carrier’s flights on which space is available at no additional charge or provide a full refund.” |
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Southwest |
Maybe |
Probably not |
“At times, without prior notice to passengers, Carrier may need to substitute other…airlines…” |
| Spirit | No | No | "Spirit will not reimburse customers for flights that they take on other carriers." |
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United |
Yes |
No |
“If UA is unable to provide onward transportation acceptable to the passenger UA…will arrange for transportation on another carrier…with whom UA has agreements for such transportation…in the same class of service as the passenger’s outbound flight at no additional cost to the passenger.”
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US Airways |
Maybe |
Maybe |
“When a ticketed customer holding confirmed reservations on a flight will be delayed because of a schedule irregularity (whether a missed connection, flight cancellation, omission of a scheduled stop, substitution of equipment or a different class of service or schedule change), US Airways will rebook the customer on its next available flight to the customer’s ticketed destination without additional charge. If US Airways is unable to provide onward transportation, US Airways may attempt [emphasis ours] to rebook the customer on the next available flight of another airline with which US Airways has an agreement allowing the acceptance of each other’s tickets.” |
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Virgin America |
Maybe |
Maybe |
“Virgin America may, without notice, substitute alternate carriers…”
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Links to contracts of carriage
AirTran
Alaska
American
Continental
Delta
Frontier
Hawaiian
Jetblue
Southwest
United
US Airways
Virgin America
And if you're traveling within or from any member country of the European Union, you're protected by an additional set of rights that are even stronger than those in the airlines' domestic contracts of carriage or those issued by the US government:
See: Passenger Rights in the European Union.
Read our other useful charts
In case you missed them, these consumer-oriented charts have a lot of useful information:
The flexible search chart
The ship your luggage by UPS or FedEx ground chart
(very useful comments from readers)
The don't buy insurance from your airline chart
The cash back credit card chart
The frequent flyer fee chart
The constantly updated airline baggage fee chart
and The "other" airline fee chart
Will rule 240 apply to tickets purchased with frequent flier miles? If not, is they any airline rule for dealing with travelers using frequent flier miles on cancelled flights?
i'm taking a flight with a connection in a week, so i'm nervous about delays/cancellations.
My husband and I were going to Maui, Hawaii for our honeymoon. Approximately 45 minutes after we boarded our plane we were out on the tarmack and told that there was a problem with the plane and that everyone needed to get off.
We had to run approximately 1km in freezing temperatures (-22) to get back to the airport terminal.
Once inside we were told that there had actually been a small fire in the cockpit and that they were hoping to put us on the next plane arriving from Seattle so that we could still catch our connecting flight in Seattle.
I am not sure exactly what happened next but the end result was that the plane they had in mind would not be able to turn around and go back to Seattle in time for us to catch our connecting flight.
We raced back through security to the main terminal and back to the ticketing desk in hopes of getting onto the next available plane.
We were the 3rd couple in line and it took over an hour for us to have our turn at the counter. We were very polite and the agent did the best she could to accomodate us given the circumstances. There was only one of her and a line up of at least 300 people and I felt terrible for her. After checking multiple flights and many different connecting city options it turned out that the only way for us to get to Maui before Sunday (we were supposed to fly out at 4am on Friday) would be for us to take 5 separate flights.
I was nearly in tears thinking about how we were going to waste the first two days of our honeymoon in airports. I called a friend and had her look online to see if there were any flights to Maui with other airlines. We discovered that West Jet had a flight that was leaving within a couple hours and we could be in Hawaii by Saturday morning rather than Sunday afternoon.
I was told that they could not put me on a WestJet flight and that if I wanted to take it, it would be all out of my own pocket.
We ended up taking 5 flights over a 36 hour time period to finally get to Maui. On top of that we were flagged for extra security screening (apparently this is common when you have flight/ticket changes). We had to go through the full security screening 5 different times!!
Alaska gave us each a $200 voucher towards another flight but we haven't decided if we want to try again.
You are protected if any of the following are true (regardless of class of service, type of airline e. g. Low Cost):
Flight starts within EU (any airline*)
Flight is to EU on an EU-domiciled carrier
* What's not clear is if this only applies if the ticket is purchased from an entity based within EU for non-EU domicilied carriers, and whether an airline website for an EU domiciled airline used abroad would count as purchased from within EU
If the ticket is on a non-scheduled charter airline available only as part of a packaged holiday, slightly different arrangements apply (but still pretty strong, and probably not worth covering in detail for your audience).
It's fair to say that some airlines will attempt to deny this rights at the airport, and will only cough up required compensation in response to a small claims court action within a relevant jurisdiction (country of airport or country of incorporation of carrier).
signed former airine station manager
I didn't think to ask if there was another carrier with a flight that would have gotten me into Atl in time to make my earlier connection, but apparently, it's at their discretion. Hmmm. I wonder what they would have done if I'd demanded to be put on another carrier's flight??? Probably nothing.
My inbound flight, four days later, was cancelled due to "weather. " I was notified that I had been arbitrarily rescheduled for a flight the following morning. I again checked weather maps across the US and learned that it was essentially clear everywhere. I was perplexed that weather could remain bad all day and they would know it was bad when the day hadn't even started. I truly feel I was being given an "excuse." They would not reimburse me for food, room, or another flight. I would have missed work as well. I chose to fly on Southwest and pay whatever it took to get me home. They were fabaulous - on time, gave me a great fare, recognized my frustration, and were happy to have my business. The employees at Southwest understand that the reason they have a job is because they have satisfied customers.
When the s#%t hits the fan, these people are about to experience a very bad day (think of your bad days!).
I will approach the ticket agent and say something like, "I'm so sorry you have to go through this - it must be murder. Is there anything I can do to help get me on a flight to my destination within several hours? And would you like me to help some of your unruly passengers calm down?"
You'd be surprised how simple courtesy, and an understanding of the staff's situation, can make a difference! Can you imagine being on the front line of 300 angry passengers?!
Identify with their situation, praise and thank them for doing a good job despite terrible circumstances, and you will be rewarded. It's a win-win situation.
Remember, you'll always get more with candy than poison. Just put yourself into their position and think about how you'd like to be treated... and what you'd do for that wonderful passenger who took the time and effort to comfort your nerves.
Safe skies to all.
There was only one flight left for the day and that was on United. Seriously short of computers on the gate side, they sent several of us out past security and to the ticket desk to get our rerouted United tickets, with the admonishment to hurry because the plane was leaving right away.
We had to go through security again, and could not get any preferential placement on the line. I ran back to United to get someone to help us through. It didn't make a difference. Several of us were asked to step into a holding area, with no explanation, while others on the line went through. We were there for 10 minutes (and I was frantic).
Finally, I learned that we had been tagged for an extra individual security check on our tickets, so felt they had to find more personnel to do the individual checks. The manager of TSA there ambled across the airport obtaining another guard's help and then ambled back with him again. They did a very slow check on us, and finally I ran out to the plane, to find they had just pulled back the staircase leading to it. I was told (along with two others) that it was too late, and to go back into the airport.
There were no additional flights out to Chicago that day. No compensation was offered. American said the problem occurred with the United ticketing. United said the problem occurred because of TSA (security group). TSA said it happened because the airline people were too lazy to fill out the necessary papers to keep the ticket from tagging us for extra security (apparently, when there is a very late check-in, the "machine" automatically tags that person for extra security check.) This is a small airport, and everyone knew what the situation was with the mechanical failure and reticketing.
I blew a gasket. I was told I could take the next plane out in the morning. No apologies, no accountability, you're on your own. After much pressure, they offered a night's accommodations, but since I was near my sister's home, I did not need it. The problem was that I needed to be in Chicago first thing in the morning, and because of the bungling of a number people and systems, I was not going to be able to get out, even though the opportunity had been there. After about an hour of loud and obvious complaining, American gave me a $200 voucher in "compensation."
(Meanwhile, my sister, who had heard about the situation in a voice mail I left her, had come to fetch me, and ran in quickly to find me. She got a $50 parking ticket for leaving her car momentarily along the curb to do so. The reason I flew there was to support her after she got a cancer diagnosis. By the time the night was through, we were both completely stressed out. I wonder why I'm getting to hate flying?) This was my second disastrous experience at Westchester County Airport.
Thanks for doing all the legwork to keep us up to date on Rule 240. It's greatly appreciated.
They flew me to an alternate city that was acceptable to me and gave me a $50 voucher for use toward future travel.
i'm taking a flight with a connection in a week, so i'm nervous about delays/cancellations.
Sometimes, you just have to ask. I hope I am not an exception, but the rule.
I called the 800#, and explained that although they were ticketed for a different return date, the two rescheduled were supposed to fly with their PARENTS on such-n-so flight.
As the phone agent hemmed & hawed, I finally asked her: "Do you really want a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl to travel unescorted on your airline?"
That pretty much got the gears spinning. By the end of my 25-minute conversation, the entire family was outbound together; and the phone agent actually apologised.
Of course, now they are all older--but I still make sure everything's in writing (e-mail) before I hang up that telephone.
For that, and for the way they dealt with other harrowing elements of that trip, I thought at the time that Delta provided outstanding service in their attempt to get me to my destination -- and now I see from this chart that they really weren't required to do all that they did. I ended up being very expensive for Delta on that trip, relative to my original ticket price!
When a ticketed passenger holding a confirmed reservation on a flight will be delayed because of a schedule irregularity (including but not limited to, a missed connection, flight cancellation, omission of a scheduled stop, substitution of equipment, a different class of service or schedule change), Spirit will rebook the passenger on Spirit's first available flight to the passenger's destination without additional charge.
Can be found here http://www.spiritair.com/contractofcarriage.aspx
Before I called Continental's 800-number, I did a quick search on Kayak.com to determine which flight would get me to my destination nearest the originally scheduled flight. When the Continental agent told me they had scheduled me on a random flight that would place my arrival more than two hours after the original flight, I simply stated, "I would prefer to fly on Delta flight ####."
"Delta?" the agent responded.
"Yes, I would prefer to fly on Delta flight ####," I repeated.
"Well, I'll have to get a supervisor to okay that," she explained.
"Thank you," I replied. "I'll be happy to wait."
After waiting 63 minutes on hold, I got the Delta flight. Which was still better than arriving seven hours later than I had planned.
Good outline is available here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6199297.stm
happy flying
kevin