US denied-boarding compensation

Timothea · 27 October 2016 at 11:00PM

This thread is about claiming US denied-boarding compensation ONLY.

The law

US Federal Regulations require most airlines operating commercial passenger flights from US airports to pay statutory compensation to travellers who are denied boarding involuntarily. The regulation’s name is Title 14 of the US Code of Federal Regulations Part 250, more commonly abbreviated to US 14 CFR Part 250. This regulation is intended to reduce the practice of airlines over-selling seats on flights in the expectation of 'no-shows' (people with reservations who don't turn up).

It is important to understand that this regulation does not cover delay or cancellation of the flight, for whatever reason. It also does not cover involuntary denied-boarding due to a change of aircraft, security concerns, invalid/missing documents, late check-in, bad behaviour, etc. or when the aircraft has fewer than 30 passenger seats.

When an airline cannot accommodate everyone who has a valid reservation for a flight, the airline should ask for volunteers to give up their seat in exchange for taking a later flight plus a voucher or money. However, if there are insufficient volunteers (or the airline fails to seek volunteers) then the airline will disembark or deny boarding to some travellers without their consent. This is when US 14 CFR Part 250 kicks in.

When this happens, the airline should rebook each such traveller on the next available flight to their destination (possibly by a different route or airline) and immediately pay the compensation due. The amount of compensation is calculated as a multiple of the one-way fare paid by the traveller (including all taxes and charges). The multiplier ranges from zero to four, depending on the scheduled delay in reaching the traveller’s destination and whether the flight is domestic or international. The amount of compensation paid to each traveller is capped at $1,350 for international flights.

How to claim

For most people visiting this forum, this situation is most likely to apply to international flights from the USA to Europe, including indirect flights. It applies to US and non-US carriers. Affected travellers could potentially claim for both US denied-boarding compensation and EU delay compensation for the same flight, if operated by an EU-carrier.

You will not be able to claim under US 14 CFR Part 250 if you have accepted some form of redress from the airline, such as vouchers, air miles, free flights or money. If the airline re-books you on a replacement flight, as it should, then this does not count as redress.

Enforcing a claim against the airline in the USA is both impractical and unlikely to succeed. The best option is to make a claim against the airline upon your return. You must be prepared to issue court proceedings against the airline in your local jurisdiction (e.g. England and Wales). NWNF lawyers are not likely to take this on either – it will be too unusual/difficult for them.

I have researched the legislation and relevant case-law, and I am to happy help anyone who has a valid claim and is prepared for a fight with the airline. Please post details of your situation on this thread and I will first assess whether you have a valid claim.

symphony63 · 2 November 2016 at 7:27PM

A friend had such a case now where the flight was overbooked and they asked for volunteers. They offered $800 voucher for future travel. As there weren't enough volunteers they forced other people off and left without them but gave them a voucher for $800. They we're put on the next flight that was 8 hours later. My friend asked for a hotel or somewhere to go and vouchers for food, the airline declined. He had no choice but travel to a hotel and book himself in for these hours as he wasn't going to sit around in the airport.
The airline was UAL.
My question is, does he have recourse using Title 14 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 250?
If so, what advice can you give?

Timothea · 3 November 2016 at 3:17AM

Your friend may have a valid claim. Please ask your friend to answer the following questions (or at least the more important questions, shown in bold font):

What date and time was the original flight scheduled to depart?
When did you first present yourself for check-in, bag drop or boarding?
What date and time was the original flight scheduled to arrive at your destination?
What intermediate stops or connections were there, if any?
What was the original flight's number(s)?
What date and time was the later flight scheduled to depart?
What date and time was the later flight scheduled to arrive at your destination?
What intermediate stops or connections were there, if any?
What was the later flight's number(s)?
How many other passengers travelling with you (as a group) were also denied boarding, if any?
Have you (or other passengers) used the voucher(s) yet?
Where and how were the tickets purchased, and how was payment made?
What was the total one-way fare paid for the original flight(s)? (This is sometimes shown on the ticket/invoice/receipt for the original flight, or often the later flight.)
If the one-way fare is not obvious, what was the total return fare?
Do you have receipts or card statements for the hotel and other expenses?
Were you given a written explanation of the denied boarding procedure or passenger rights under US 14 CFR Part 250?
Were there any notices displayed on or near the check-in desk explaining the denied boarding procedure or passenger rights under US 14 CFR Part 250?
What was exact the sequence of events?
Do you have the names or contact details of any witnesses, airline agents or other passengers who were also denied boarding?
Did you or anyone you know take pictures or make recordings of what happened or what you were told?
What reason(s) were you given as to why you were denied boarding and by whom?
Did you ask for or receive a written explanation as to why you were denied boarding?
Do you still have the voucher or a receipt for the voucher?
Do you still have your boarding passes and tickets?

Emilykj796 · 17 July 2017 at 10:53PM

I recently traveled to pheonix via Atlanta from Manchester. When I got to Atlanta and was at the gate to board my flight to pheonix I was told I could not get on the flight. I had a valid ticket and ev

Emilykj796 · 17 July 2017 at 10:57PM

I recently traveled to Pheonix via Atlanta from Manchester (UK), got on the flight to Atlanta fine but when I arrived at the gate in Atlanta to fly to Pheonix I was told I could not board the flight. They kept saying there was an issue with my ticket, however I had the receipt of the ticket and all the correct details. They had overbooked the flight and I had to wait till the following morning to fly. I have emailed numerous times trying to get some sort of compensation from them and all I have received is emails fobbing me off with a load of rubbish about being transferred. Can anyone help me with an effective way to get through to them as i lost a full day of a weeks holiday. Plus I was travelling on my own in a country I've never been to. If anyone could help please that would be great.

Timothea · 18 July 2017 at 7:09AM

Emilykj796 wrote: »

I recently traveled to Pheonix via Atlanta from Manchester (UK), got on the flight to Atlanta fine but when I arrived at the gate in Atlanta to fly to Pheonix I was told I could not board the flight. They kept saying there was an issue with my ticket, however I had the receipt of the ticket and all the correct details. They had overbooked the flight and I had to wait till the following morning to fly.

It sounds like you were denied boarding involuntarily, without compensation, resulting in a significant delay in reaching your final destination. You may have a valid denied boarding claim under US 14 CFR Part 250. You may also have a valid claim for delay under EU Regulation 261/2004. You may even have a valid claim for breach of contract if you incurred additional expenses as a direct result of the delay.

You need to collect the information listed in post #3 and keep all tickets, receipts, documentation and correspondence. You should also write down a detailed account of exactly what happened, and when, before your memory fades.

Please provide some basic information so that we can determine how to proceed.

The travel agent or airline who sold you the tickets
How you paid or part-paid for your tickets (e.g. credit card, debit card)
The airline or airlines who issued your tickets
The actual carrier for each leg of your journey
The one-way fare you paid for the delayed leg (or any fare breakdown you have)
The time before the scheduled departure time of your original connecting flight that you arrived at the gate
The delay in arrival at your final destination
The amount you incurred in additional costs as a result of the delay, if any
Any forms of compensation you have already received or accepted (e.g. vouchers)

Emilykj796 · 18 July 2017 at 10:29AM

Thank you for getting back so quickly. I bought the tickets with a credit card via Virgin Atlantic. From MAN-ATL I flew with Virgin and ATL-PHX the airline carrier was Delta. The original flight was meant to depart at 8.30pm on Sat 28th Jan, I arrived at the gate around 5.30/6pm as my flight from MAN landed around 4pm so I was one of the first people at the gate for this flight. The original flight was meant to land at 10.30pm on Sat 28th Jan and I ended up arriving around 12/1pm on Sunday 29th Jan. I ended up spending an extra $30 to buy some food, and I also had none of my luggage as that was already on the plane that I was meant to be on on it's way to PHX, so I had to buy a toothbrush, some face wash etc. I have not receive any sort of compensation thus far. When flying back home from PHX-ATL (also with Delta) they had also overbooked that flight and I had to wait for someone to give up their seat before I could get a seat, they were offering people $600 to give up their seat on the flight.

Timothea · 18 July 2017 at 12:20PM

Thank you, Emily. I have a few more questions:

Did the Delta flight have the same ticket number as the Virgin flight? (Look on the e-ticket, reservation, boarding passes, invoice or other documentation)
Did you pay one fare for the entire outbound journey or the entire trip? (Look at the invoice or other documentation showing the fare)
Was your luggage checked through to Phoenix when you boarded in Manchester? (I know you had to clear customs in Atlanta, but were the PHX baggage labels already attached?)
Did the Delta flight have a Virgin flight number (i.e. starting VS) or did the reservation say 'operated by Delta Airlines'?

These questions relate to the EU compensation and whether Phoenix was your final destination. The change of carrier makes it a bit more difficult to claim EU compensation, which you can only claim from Virgin Atlantic. I think you have a valid claim for €600 but others on this forum are more familiar with EU compensation claims.

I am pretty sure you have a valid claim for US denied-boarding compensation against Delta Airlines. They should have asked for volunteers, as they did in Phoenix, Failing that, they should have informed you of your rights, they should have paid you $675 in cash, and they should have put you on the next available flight to Phoenix (not just the next available Delta flight).

Your case is similar to mine, so I am happy to help. You have a number of actions to get Delta to pay the compensation that you are due, roughly in this order:

Write or email Delta and demand payment of the US denied-boarding compensation that you are owed
Start a social media campaign around your treatment by Delta (which can be effective if you have lots of Facebook friends or Twitter followers)
Complain to the US Department of Transportation, which regulates US airlines
Contact your credit card provider to lodge a dispute, as they are jointly and severally liable
Send a firm Letter Before Action to Delta (in England & Wales) demanding payment and threatening to file a money claim in the county court
File a money claim against Delta Airlines in this country and prepare for a court hearing

Do you think you are up for this?

asheilio · 19 July 2017 at 4:59PM

Thank you timothea for responding to my claim issue on the virgin atlantic thread.

As you have read my issue, which airline do you think I should claim against for US compensation?

Summary of events

Flight VS10 was scheduled to depart at 09:30pm, we presented ourselves at the Virgin Atlantic (VA) check in desk at 08:15pm. The VA staff claimed they had no ticket for us on this flight, even though we were able to show and confirm our booking reservation. They told us to check in at the Delta (D) desk. We then spoke to the D staff and they were able to find our ticket on their system, but because the flight was being operated by VA they could not print our tickets. As a result of the failure of Virgin Atlantic's IT systems we missed the flight and D booked us on the next available D flight which was the next day. We were told to book a hotel ourselves and come back the next day. There was no mention of compensation or passenger rights by either airline. The VA staff had already packed up and gone home by the time Delta had re-booked us on a flight. This was especially disappointing as the check-in desks for Virgin Atlantic and Delta were opposite each other and so it was clear the Virgin Atlantic staff had no interest in our situation.

Timothea · 20 July 2017 at 12:44AM

I think you have a good claim for US denied-boarding compensation on the basis that you showed the Virgin check-in agent your valid tickets and confirmed reservations. Virgin should have located your tickets and issued boarding passes to you. Or, if there were insufficient available seats on the flight to accommodate you, Virgin should have activated its overbooking procedures (e.g. asking for volunteers).

The US Department of Transportation's Air Consumer Fly-Rights guidance says the following under Involuntary Bumping:

To be eligible for compensation, you must have a confirmed reservation. A written confirmation issued by the airline or an authorized agent or reservation service qualifies you in this regard even if the airline can't find your reservation in the computer, as long as you didn't cancel your reservation or miss a reconfirmation deadline.

As for your out-of-pocket expenses, these can be reclaimed as damages under Article 19 - Delay of the Montreal Convention. You will need to have receipts or some other proof that you incurred these expenses (e.g. a credit card statement). The Montreal Convention applies to almost all international carriage by air.

The Montreal Convention is helpful in another important way too. Chapter V of the Montreal Convention, particularly Article 41 - Mutual Liability, means that the contracting carrier (in this case, Delta) and the actual carrier (in this case, Virgin) are jointly and severally liable for the acts and omissions of the other. So, you could claim against both carriers. However, your best option may be to divide and conquer (i.e. make certain claims against Delta and other claims against Virgin).

In EU law, statutory compensation (such as EC Regulation 261/2004) falls outside the scope of the Montreal Convention because it is not damages for delay. An even stronger argument can be made that US denied-boarding compensation (US 14 CFR Part 250) also falls outside the scope of the Montreal Convention because it has a limited purpose and scope.

These are complex legal arguments that you would need to research and prepare beforehand. Please read my other posts in this thread to understand what actions you may need to take before making a claim.

US denied-boarding compensation

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