New air passenger rights drawn up by the European Commission will give a green light to back to back ticketing if approved.
Proposals include a clause that passengers cannot be denied boarding on the return flight if they did not use the outbound part of the ticket, something that will enable business travellers to escape punitive fare categories by purchasing two cheaper tickets instead.
The plans, which have yet to be approved and will be introduced in 2015 at the earliest, were criticised by Dale Keller, chief executive of the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR UK).
“This is something that long-haul carriers were advising should not be under the terms of the legislation, which was originally designed for overbookings. We feel the scope of the legislation is changing significantly from its original intent and purpose,” he said.
BAR UK will continue its lobbying, he added.
The proposals are aimed at clarifying grey areas. The changes give more rights to passengers but also stamp out what the EC calls “disproportionate” costs imposed on airlines. The EC said changes were necessary because only a fraction of those entitled to compensation for delays or cancellations received it and fewer than half of those entitled to meals, refreshment and accommodation were given it.
The key proposals are:
• A clear definition of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ under which airlines are exempt from paying compensation.
• A requirement to keep passengers informed about delays and cancellations as soon as possible - not more than 30 minutes after scheduled departure - and to give an estimated departure time.
• Cutting the minimum threshold for assistance during delays to two hours regardless of circumstances and flight distance.
• Fixing the deadline for compensation at five hours for short-haul international flights, nine hours for flights of less than 6,000km and 12 hours for those over 6,000km.
• An extension of these rights to passengers sat on aircraft that cannot depart.
• The right to assistance for missed connections when an inbound flight is more than two hours late.
The rules would also extended to include rescheduling of flights less than two weeks before the original departure time. These would then enjoy the same compensation rights as delayed or cancelled flights. Other changes include the free correction of spelling mistakes on ticketing up to 48 hours before departure.