In 2011, the US Department of Transport introduced a series of new
regulations to offer greater protection to airline passengers. The
intention is to improve the level of service actually delivered at
airports and to achieve a better level of transparency on fares before
you book. This is a brief summary of the new protections:
1. Lost baggage
If a bag is lost, the airline is required to refund the fee charged
for carriage, and to hold that reduced fee on any continuing or return
flights. Compensation is also to be paid. Although this is not intended
as a substitute for you carrying travel insurance, basic losses should
be covered immediately when loss or damage is obvious. Compensation
remains payable even if the bag is not lost but merely delayed.
2. Bumping
Airlines continue to overbook, especially when cheap air tickets are
held, despite the best efforts of regulators worldwide. The new rules
double the amount of compensation payable if you are denied a flight. If
you cannot be delivered to your intended destination within two hours
of the scheduled time, you're entitled to compensation of double the
face value of the ticket up to a maximum $650 per ticket. But if the
delay is longer, you're entitled to four times the face value of the
ticket up to a maximum of $1,300 per air ticket. These compensation amounts will be adjusted to stay in line with inflation every two years.
3. Transparency
Applicable charges for providing meals, handling bags and so on must
be listed by all airlines on their website. All government fees and
taxes must be included in the ticket prices collected. Unless the
government fees and taxes rise, the prices cannot be increased after you
pay.
4. Reservations
If you make a reservation for full-price or cheap air tickets, the quoted prices must be held for at least 24 hours. If you decide to cancel, the airline is not allowed to impose a penalty.
There was no variation of the tarmac delay rules. Secretary LaHood
has been satisfied by the improvement in airline's performance although
the new rules do require more disclosure on delays and cancellations to
improve monitoring of the airlines.