Is it possible to balance the interests of air passengers and airlines?
The legal reform of air passenger rights in the EU is causing controversy. The changes to the regulations introduce new measures, such as allowing airlines to charge for hand luggage. This episode explains what to expect when flying within the EU.
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00:14Airliner passenger rights are currently in play.
00:17EU governments have agreed to a controversial legal reform
00:21which allows charging for hand luggage, for example.
00:24Other rights have been strengthened in regulations on air passenger rights and airline liability.
00:31UD code explains what to expect when travelling by air in the EU.
00:36One of the updates concerns compensation for flight delays.
00:40Delay is currently defined as 3 hours for short-haul flights with passengers receiving 250 euros.
00:47The revision sets 4 hours as the threshold for both short-haul and medium-haul flights
00:52with passengers receiving 300 euros.
00:56The revision increases the current delay from 3 to 6 hours for long-haul flights
01:01and reduces the current compensation of 600 euros to 500 euros.
01:06In addition, airliners will be able to charge passengers for luggage placed in the cabin
01:12with only small bags that fit under the seats being free.
01:17The European Parliament will now examine the proposed update and decide to amend it or reject it.
01:23Let's hear what Europeans think of the possible changes.
01:26I don't think it's so important. 3 hours, 4 hours, my God, 1 hour or more.
01:32I would put more in my big bag and I wouldn't take small bags.
01:36It doesn't bother me more than that either.
01:38You won't make a lot of progress and you should be able to repay.
01:43If you want to continue like this, you will have to pay for your own price.
01:48It's not bad, but it's more about transparency.
01:51Because when we are doing reserves, there are huge options and we never know how much price will be.
02:00Euronews reporter Gregoire Lory has covered this process.
02:04What can we expect from the European Parliament regarding the review of passengers' rights,
02:10notably the right to compensation for delays?
02:14It's going to be tough. The first group in the chamber, the EPP, warns that there is no way they should water down passengers' rights.
02:22So for the centre-right party, extending the delay to get compensation is a step in the wrong direction.
02:30The second group in the chamber, the SND, is on the same direction.
02:35The group feels that the new rules favour airliners and they ask also for automatic compensation,
02:44which means that passengers would get reimbursed within days and not within months.
02:50There are other amendments that are less controversial. The right to assistance, to information. What else could change?
02:58So the right of assistance is the right to get refreshment, food accommodation in case of delay or consolation.
03:06Airlines should provide this. If airlines fail to provide this, then passengers can make their own arrangement and get reimbursed afterwards.
03:15There's also the re-routing right. Airlines should provide the earliest opportunity for a re-routing for passengers,
03:23which means that maybe this re-routing will happen through another courier or even another transport mode.
03:31Furthermore, airlines should act as swiftly as possible within three hours of a disruption.
03:39Otherwise, a passenger could make its own arrangement and ask for compensation, which could be up to 400% of the original cost.
03:49There was not enough to block these amendments during the vote at the EU Council of Ministers, but four countries refused them.
03:59It's Germany, Slovenia, Portugal and Spain. What were the main arguments?
04:05So Spain is asking for legal precise wording to avoid, you know, technical issues that would allow airliners to avoid compensating passengers.
04:15And Madrid is particularly vocal on that question. The government fined in November five companies for abusive practices not linked with compensation,
04:25but with charging and luggage in cabins for instance. Germany also considers that it's going to reduce the level of protection of consumers.
04:33So we can expect Germany to be front-runner during the negotiation that is going to take place.
04:39The review also addresses abusive practices, notably the so-called no-show policy.
04:45Passengers cannot be denied boarding on a return flight simply because they did not use the outbound flight.
04:51In the event of cancellation less than 14 days before departure, airlines must provide pre-filled forms for payment of compensation.
04:59Our guest is Agustin Reina, Director General of the European Consumer Organization, an entity that has produced a position paper on this review.
05:10Your immediate reaction to the ministerial agreement was to say, and I quote,
05:16there's been a substantial reversal of fundamental rights. Let's start with the financial compensation for delays.
05:24What is the impact of changing from three to four hours in order to get that compensation?
05:29So member states' agreement to go from three hours to four hours of compensation would imply that roughly 50% of people
05:40that today are entitled to get compensation in case of a delay, they will not have this right anymore.
05:47Three hours have been identified also by the Court of Justice as the appropriate threshold.
05:52And consumers are used to this parameter in order to assess whether they can claim compensation or not.
06:00So, therefore, increasing that threshold gives more flexibility to the airlines,
06:06but also means that consumers will end up waiting for much longer in order not only to get their flight eventually,
06:12but also to claim compensation.
06:14Regarding the payment for cabin luggage, your organization has issued several warnings
06:20that decisions by the European Court of Justice are being disregarded. How so?
06:26The practice of charging consumers for their carry-on luggage on board, especially by low-cost carriers, is illegal.
06:34It's illegal under EU law and it's also illegal under the case law of the European Court of Justice.
06:40So one of the problems that we have identified in the texts that have been agreed by the member states
06:46is that now they're legitimizing that practice.
06:48And bringing a carry-on luggage doesn't have an extra cost for the airline.
06:52In this case, there is no additional cost for an airline.
06:56So basically, the practice of charging consumers is just basically to extract more money from their customers.
07:02Do you think this review could encourage airlines to go even further in charging for other services,
07:10especially the flagship airlines that tend to be less restrictive than the low-cost ones?
07:16We don't have a crystal ball, but the reality is that now this position of the member states leaves the door open.
07:23So we could see these business models evolving in the future.
07:27So there is a matter of ensuring that there is a minimum level of quality when European consumers take a flight.
07:34Airlines for Europe welcomed the government's position.
07:37This organization, which represents 80% of European air traffic, said that the review will allow for companies to offer the best possible package for consumers.
07:49However, depending on the European Parliament, the decade-long review may take some more time to reach conclusion.
