www.choice.com.au/complain = Complane!

[trooper]

This isn't comparing like with like.

'Normal businesses' delivering late are subject to consumer protection laws, or if those aren't suitable, you can take the business to court under normal contract law.

Doctors and the like aren't the same as airlines... if your doctor is running 15 minutes late you can walk out and you pay nothing.

Airlines have adhesion contracts - entirely in their favour with little or no recourse for the passenger. If the airline is running an hour late you can't simply cancel and get a full refund. Or if they cancel their flight you might get a refund, but not enough to walk over to another airline and buy a last-minute walk up fare.

Just like consumer protection laws have made it easier for consumers (you don't have to go to court to get a retailer to fix a fault), EU261 has done the same. And EU261 has made it easy for international flights where the Montreal Convention already applies. That Convention says passengers can claim compensation from the airlines for delays... but good luck trying to get that enforced in court with the associated costs. EU261 simply makes it easy for passengers to claim, like consumer protection does for faulty goods.

Airlines may face operational difficulties, but the ones subject to an EU-type claim are caused by their own doing, or are part of doing business as an airline. Weather and ATC and other unforeseen events are not covered by EU261. The have 25 minute turnarounds for domestic flights (their choice), they work planes harder than ever (their choice), they have grown in size with huge logistics (crew, catering, baggage), they oversell - all their choice. Some airlines like BA have back-up planes sitting on standby to cope with delays or cancellations of the scheduled fleet. If another airline chooses not to do that then again, it's their choice. But why should the passenger suffer?

The consequences for passengers for airlines cancelling flights is huge... disrupts holidays and other plans, and the financial burden is high for passengers wanting to make alternative arrangements. That's why we need effective consumer protection that doesn't require going to court every time we want redress.

But weren't the airlines held accountable under EU261 during the volcanic eruptions?

 

[serfty]

But weren't the airlines held accountable under EU261 during the volcanic eruptions?

For duty of care, yes.

For "compensation", no.

The former has no exclusion for "exceptional circumstances".

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Perhaps the 'duty of care' element of EU261 goes too far in the context of the Icelandic volcano... but there still has to be some incentive for the airline to recover its operations following such an event. Leaving passengers stranded at out stations because they want, for example, to focus on service recovery on other lucrative routes would potentially put some pax at a disadvantage.

I dunno where the middle ground is, but events like this do happen, it is part of running an airline.

 

[Melburnian1]

As a better comparison than doctors' appointments, since privatisation in about 1999, what is today Metro Trains Melbourne, Yarra Trams and (government owned) V/Line have had a compensation regime applied as part of their franchising (V/Line was privately run for a few short years but has long changed back to ownership by government.)

As one example, if a V/Line train runs more than 60 minutes late, passengers can apply for compensation which is typically a free return ticket or in the myki smartcard area closer to Melbourne, I assume the equivalent value loaded onto one's smartcard.

For the Melbourne trains and trams, compensation is only available if an operator fails a monthly target across the lines in total. There's a few other rules as well.

It isn't perfect but it shows that in transport, it is possible to introduce a local version of EU261.

I bet that as well as loss of upgrades if media 'figures' started advocating for this for our domestic airlines, they would fear loss of exclusivity such as access to Chairman's Lounge or The Club. In these settings, delays don't matter..just sink another cab sav or chablis.