european parliament exchange of views on air … presentation...belle air aurigny air services air...

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www.eraa.org twitter.com/eraaorg European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air Passenger Rights Simon McNamara European Regions Airline Association

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Page 1: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

European Parliament Exchange of

Views on Air Passenger Rights

Simon McNamara

European Regions Airline Association

Page 2: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

About ERA

• 51 airline members

• 1.6 million flights per year

• 70.6 million passengers per year

• 72 minute average sector time

• 72 seat average seating capacity

Focused on intra-European, short haul flights by

narrow body and regional aircraft

Page 3: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

Aegean Airlines

Suckling Airways

Aer Arann

Air Alps Aviation

Air Contractors Ireland

Air Iceland

Airlinair Air Urga

Blue Islands

Blue 1

Binter Canarias

Belle Air

Aurigny Air Services

Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines

Eastern Airways

Darwin Airlines

Danish Air Transport

CityJet

Cimber Carpatair

Brit Air

BMI Regional Malmo Aviation

Luxair

KLM Cityhopper

Golden Air

Eurolot Estonian Air

Sky Express

Sata Air Acores

Regional

PGA Portugalia

Olympic Air

Wideroe

West Air Sweden

Welcome Air

Amapola Flyg

Astra Airlines

Atlantic Airways

Avanti Air

Avion Express

Belavia

Denim Air ACMI

DOT

Farnair Switzerland

Mistral Air

Montenegro Airlines

Titan Airways

Trade Air

Page 4: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

EU261 as it stands now

We welcome the opportunity to improve EU261 where:

• It provides greater clarity

• It improves the fair application of the Regulation

• It provides real additional rights

• It re-balances passenger rights with airline obligations

Some parts of the proposal by the Commission achieve this, others do not…

Page 5: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

Pros and Cons…

This presentation will focus on three issues of

concern for ERA members:

Liability for compensation in the event of long

arrival (at final destination) delays in the case of

connecting flights (Article 6a)

Delay at final destination (Article 6, par. 2)

Diversions considered as cancellations

(Article 2l)

Page 6: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

• The “Hub &

Spoke”

concept is

still a major

part of

connecting

Europe’s

regions with

the world

Connecting flights matter..

Page 7: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

Missed connecting flights

Case study

Faroe Islands – Copenhagen – Tokyo

• First Leg: a regional airline

• Second Leg: a network airline

• A small delay (45 mins) on leg 1 causes a

missed connection in Copenhagen

• Copenhagen-Tokyo: passenger is re-routed on

the next day’s flight and reaches Tokyo with a

24hour delay

Page 8: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

Missed connecting flights

(the situation today)

Faroe Islands – Copenhagen – Tokyo

Passenger is already protected by:

• 1999 Montreal Convention: recovery in case of damages to passengers and luggage caused by the delay in the air carriage

• Multilateral Interline Traffic Agreements (MITA): over 350 worldwide IATA and non-IATA airlines’ network covered:

First leg operator: responsible for re-routing, care/assistance at transit

• MITA: internationally well-established agreements; care and assistance is what disrupted passengers need

An unhappy passenger? YES An abandoned passenger? NO

Page 9: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

Missed connecting flights

(proposed art.6a)

Faroe Islands – Copenhagen - Tokyo

Compensation due by first leg operator (regional):

• Disproportionate: based on “Faroe-Tokyo” distance

• Inconsistent: punitive although connecting delay is below the “long delay” threshold level normally triggering compensation

• Disincentive to interlining agreements (MITA):

Hub & Spoke principle damage European Regions potentially isolated from the hubs

and therefore from the world Multiple luggage check-ins and tickets An unhappy passenger? YES An abandoned passenger? YES

Page 10: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

Delay at final destination

(art. 6, par. 2)

London‐Dubai‐Bangkok:

• First leg: an EU air carrier arrives on time

• Second leg: a non‐EU air carrier and arrives late

For compensation purposes, (long) delay is now considered at final destination

Who pays?

• Paradox 1: First carrier has to pay compensation although it provides a service with no delay? Unfair

• Paradox 2: Second carrier has to pay compensation although flight out of the scope of the Regulation? Unenforceable

Page 11: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

Flight diversions as cancellation

(art. 2, letter l)

“…A flight where the aircraft took off but, for whatever reason, was subsequently forced to land at an airport other than the airport of destination or to return to the airport of departure, shall also be considered a cancelled flight”.

• Flight safety is and must always be the number one priority for air operators

• Airlines will always make prudent decisions to divert when necessary, always for flight safety reasons

• Does this amendment potentially pose a threat to safety by providing a disincentive to divert??

Passenger safety must always come first

Page 12: European Parliament Exchange of Views on Air … presentation...Belle Air Aurigny Air Services Air Nostrum Sky Work Airlines Eastern Airways Darwin Airlines Danish Air Transport CityJet

www.eraa.org

twitter.com/eraaorg

• Article 6a (missed connecting flights): passengers’ protection (MITA) poorer; EU regions connectivity to the hubs reduced; inconvenience to passengers increased (multiple luggage

check-in, multiple tickets for one journey) Inconsistent with long-established airlines cooperation Inconvenience at airports: increased transit of passengers

• Article 6, par. 2 (long delay at final destination) May impose compensation despite punctuality;

May be unenforceable;

• Article 2l (flight diversions): No compromise on safety is acceptable

No challenge to a captain’s decision taken exclusively on safety grounds

Summary