Planning a trip typically includes choosing a destination, budget, and times. That makes sense, but it is not enough. A cancelled outbound flight will likely cancel all hotel nights, tours, and rail bookings, and may impact time-sensitive plans. A cancelled return flight could add additional overnight expenses for hotels, lost income due to missing work, and potentially challenging options for routing the traveller back home.
Passenger protections in the UK extend far beyond airline’s discretion. They are formally defined by law regarding refunds, re-routing, airport care and in certain situations compensation. Travel insurance is important, but it replaces no obligation of an airline to protect a traveller.
Why Disruption Rights Must Be Included Early in Trip Planning
Passengers normally research baggage allowances, seat charges and change policies prior to purchasing their ticket. Disruptions rights, like baggage allowances, etc. must receive similar consideration. When an airline cancels a flight, passengers should be offered a choice of either being reimbursed for the cost of the ticket or being re-routed on a comparable basis. Additionally, during the wait period, passengers may also be entitled to care (food, beverages, accommodations) where necessary. Some of these protections are significantly more important than the potential savings of selecting one carrier over another based upon price differences. This is where booking flexibility and legal rights meet.
Booking flexibility reduces stress prior to the trip. However, it replaces no legal entitlements post cancellation. For example, a low priced non-flexible fare may provide the traveller with re-routing and/or refund entitlements if the airline cancels. Conversely, a flexible fare with little clarity on passenger rights will still lead to traveller making poor decisions under duress. Therefore, a reasonable trip plan would include both commercial flexibility and legal recourse. Travellers researching the potential for cancelled flight compensation typically only consider the monetary aspects of compensation. That is a narrow view. Compensation has merit, however, the initial decision is generally which is the most valuable, accepting a refund or insisting on a re-route that continues to keep the traveller on schedule. In many actual case studies, the most valuable entitlement is the re-routing entitlement.
Insurance Has Its Own Role To Play
Travel insurance is still very relevant. The UK travel insurance industry has noted that travel insurance may offer assistance with replacement transportation, delays and/or some irretrievable losses. These elements are important when airline rights do not compensate for all additional costs associated with the disrupted travel arrangement, or when the disruption impacts other components of the travel arrangement beyond the flight itself.
The mistake made is assuming travel insurance is the primary source of compensation. In many instances, the initial contact point is the airline, accommodation provider, tour operator, or credit card company since the traveller has existing rights (contractual/legally binding) against each of these parties. Travel insurance is used primarily to cover any losses that were unable to be covered through any other means, dependent upon the terms of the policy. Consequently, good planning dictates reviewing the travel insurance policy with the same level of detail that was placed on the purchase of the airline tickets.
What Passengers Should Check When a Flight is Cancelled
Passengers’ first concern is usually how much advance notice the airline provided. Entitlement to compensation is dependent upon the cause of cancellation and the degree of inconvenience to the traveller. Extraordinary circumstances, including extreme weather, airport closures/strikes, or disruptions to air traffic control may result in no entitlement to compensation.
Secondly, passengers’ concern is usually what options are available. When an airline cancels a flight, passengers should be offered a choice between a refund for the ticket and a re-route to the destination(s) originally intended. That choice is paramount. Refunds seem appealing; however, if the replacement fares have increased substantially or if the journey remains required, they may not be the best option. Re-routing may allow travellers to retain the value of hotel bookings, event tickets and other transportation.
At this juncture, the intersection of booking flexibility and legal entitlements is particularly important. Flexible ticketing can reduce anxiety for travellers prior to travel. However, it does not eliminate the legal entitlements post cancellation. Low-cost non-flexible tickets may still provide travellers with the entitlement to a re-route or a refund in the event of a cancellation. On the other hand, flexible tickets without a clear understanding of entitlements to the traveller may still leave the traveller making poor decisions while under pressure. As such, a reasonable travel plan should include commercial flexibility and statutory entitlements.
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