Passenger bill of rights overdue
EDITORIAL: WHAT OTHERS THINK U.S. and Europe already have protection for air travellers
Fifteen years after an air passenger bill of rights was introduced in Europe and 12 years after one was passed in the United States, Canada is finally getting its own long-overdue version.
The bill contains a number of welcome measures, though it may not be the panacea passengers were hoping for.
The legislation amounts to a general promise from Transport Minister Marc Garneau that the bill of rights, which is expected to be in place by 2019, will establish clear standards of treatment for air travellers as well as some financial compensation, still to be determined, under certain circumstances.
Those include being denied boarding for reasons that include overbooking, delays and cancellations; lost or damaged bags and tarmac delays over a certain period of time.
The legislation will also require that children can be seated near a parent or guardian at no extra charge.
There’s good news, too, for those caught on the wrong side of airline fine print. Under the new legislation airlines will be required to alert passengers in “plain language” about the carriers’ obligations, how to seek compensation and how to file complaints.
But in at least one important way the legislation comes up short. Namely, there is nothing in it to stop airlines from continuing to overbook.
That’s a big sore point for travellers who are often told when they arrive at the airport, or even at the gate, that they cannot board their flight despite having a valid ticket.
Many hoped that, under the new legislation, cases like that of 15-year-old Hayden Levy would become a thing of the past. Travelling alone recently, the Nova Scotia teen ended up sleeping, scared, on the floor at Pearson airport until he could board another flight home the next day.
Overbooking is a disturbing practice that has come under increasing criticism and scrutiny since April 9. That’s when United Airlines literally dragged a 69year-old man, Dr. David Dao, off a flight in Chicago after he refused to voluntarily give up his seat on an overbooked flight.
During the struggle Dao had two of his teeth knocked out and suffered a broken nose and a concussion.
The good news: while the Canadian legislation will still allow overbooking, it does, at least, stipulate that no passenger can be involuntarily removed from a flight once they are on it.
The legislation has been a long time coming, and won’t be in place for another year, but air passengers finally have hope that they will be treated like customers, rather than cattle. Until then, there’s hope that airlines, after watching United’s stock take a beating for mistreating Dao, will get the message that bad customer service carries steep costs.
An editorial from the Toronto Star (distributed by The Canadian Press)