Brief Summary on EU Draft Bill regarding Air Passenger Rights. This Summary will explore briefly the modifications of the CE n°261/2004 and the CE n°2027/97 voted on February the 5th, 2014.

1. Air Observer
Brief Summary of EU Draft Bill on
Passengers (Pax) Rights

2. This summary aims to:
• Describe briefly the EU draft bill on air pax rights
• Put things in perspective (see my blog post)
What are these regulations?
• Regulation CE n°261/2004 deals with the refund and assistance of
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pax in case of denied boarding/ cancelling of the flight / important
delay (3, 5, 7 hours the longer the distance).
• Regulation CE n°2027/97 deals with the responsibility of aircraft
carriers towards pax and their luggage.
What impacts?
• This draft bill can have a vital impact on the airlines’ business
model especially the one of the low-cost carriers’.

3. Explanatory statements
What caused these modifications?
The EU Parliament advances:
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A divergence of interpretation / a rise of unfair practices
(p.108)
Flaws in the current regulations (p.108)
Different practices from one State to another (p.108)
Difficulty encountered by pax in enforcing their rights (p.108,
109)
A situation of the “weak (pax) vs the strong (big
companies)”(p.109)
Complexity and high cost in current procedures (p.109)

4. Draft Bill Objectives
Draft Bill Objectives
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Enforce pax rights
Enforce the power of national
organisms
Protect pax from unfair denied
boarding / missing connection / long
delays
Increase the responsibility of
carriers towards luggage, PRM
equipment and musical
instruments
The proposals summarised:
• On denied boarding
• On compensation right in case of
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missed connecting flight
On compensation right for pax in case
of long delays
On extraordinary circumstances
On the minimum luggage allowance
and luggage in general
On accommodation expenses
On the right to be informed
On the price transparency
On the complaint procedure

5. The proposals summarised:
Denied boarding
• Deny boarding of passengers on a two-way ticket under the
basis that they didn’t fly the outward ticket is strictly forbidden.
• Denied boarding is extended to long delays and missed
connection – if this is due to the airline
Compensation in case of missed flight connection
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If an airline is responsible of a missed flight connection (change
of schedule, delays…), a missed flight connection shall be
viewed as a denied boarding.
The pax must receive “assistance, care and rerouting” by the
airline immediately after the missed connection
They shall receive the same compensation as the one for
cancellation or delay

6. The proposals summarised:
Long delays compensation
• UE lowers the thresholds of long delays (3, 5 or 7 hours now
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against 5,9, 12 in the past, depending on the miles flown)
• Common thresholds for all UE countries
• Any agreement between airlines or pax should only regard the
form of the compensation and not the compensation itself

7. The proposals summarised:
Accommodation expenses
• Limit accommodation expenses for the airline to €175 per night, for 5 nights
maximum
Right to be informed
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Airlines will have to establish contact points in airports
Transparency obligation regarding pax rights, delay causes and
alternative ways of transport

8. The proposals summarised:
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Extraordinary circumstances
Exhaustive list of circumstances regarded as extraordinary :
1. technical problems afflicting the aircraft which are directly caused
by a hidden manufacturing defect (…)
2. damage caused by bird strike
3. war, political unrest, acts of sabotage or terrorism rendering
impossible the safe operation of the flight
4. health risks or medical emergencies
5. unforeseen air traffic management restrictions or the unforeseen
closure of the airspace, including runway closure
6. meteorological conditions incompatible with flight safety or that have
damaged the aircraft (…)
7. unforeseen labour disputes at the operating air carrier or at essential
service providers (…)
(More information on the Annex 1 , Wallentin-Herman case, the Ryanair Plc vs
Denise McDonagh)

9. The proposals summarised:
Luggage
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The following luggage type shall no longer be charged for: hand
luggage (x1), musical instrument*, PRM equipment, therapeutic
oxygen
A musical instrument shall be considered a hand luggage
provided it can be stowed safely.
Where a musical instrument is too large to be stowed safetly,
the airline can request the payment of a second fare where the
instrument is carried as hand luggage on second seat.
Contact points shall be established to deal with issues of lost /
delayed / damaged luggage
Obligation to refund in advance lost/damaged luggage

10. Price transparency
• “Ticket price" means the full price paid for a ticket and including
the air fare, all applicable taxes, charges, surcharges and
fees paid for all optional and non-optional services included in
the ticket related to the air transport part of the journey.
• It also takes into account issue of a boarding card, minimum
luggage allowance and payment-related costs such as creditcard fees.
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Complaint procedure
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Pax have a limited time of six months to report a complaint
Airlines have the obligation to confirm reception of the complaint
within 7 days and has a legal obligation of 2 months to treat it

11. Which impact on the low-cost business
model?
• To this end, visit my blog:
• You can download the document here, or via the
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European Parliament website Europarl.Europa.eu