00:00www.airline.com
00:14Airliner passenger rights are currently in play.
00:17EU governments have agreed to a controversial legal reform
00:21which allows charging for hand luggage, for example.
00:24Other rights have been strengthened in regulations on air passenger rights and airline liability.
00:31UD code explains what to expect when travelling by air in the EU.
00:36One of the updates concerns compensation for flight delays.
00:40Delay is currently defined as 3 hours for short-haul flights with passengers receiving 250 euros.
00:47The revision sets 4 hours as the threshold for both short-haul and medium-haul flights
00:52with passengers receiving 300 euros.
00:56The revision increases the current delay from 3 to 6 hours for long-haul flights
01:01and reduces the current compensation of 600 euros to 500 euros.
01:06In addition, airliners will be able to charge passengers for luggage placed in the cabin
01:12with only small bags that fit under the seats being free.
01:17The European Parliament will now examine the proposed update and decide to amend it or reject it.
01:23Let's hear what Europeans think of the possible changes.
01:26I don't think it's so important. 3 hours, 4 hours, my God, 1 hour or more.
01:32I would put more in my big bag and I wouldn't take small bags.
01:36It doesn't bother me more than that either.
01:38You won't make a lot of progress and you should be able to repay.
01:43If you want to continue like this, you will have to pay for your own price.
01:48It's not bad, but it's more about transparency.
01:51Because when we are doing reserves, there are huge options and we never know how much price will be.
02:00Euronews reporter Gregoire Lory has covered this process.
02:04What can we expect from the European Parliament regarding the review of passengers' rights,
02:10notably the right to compensation for delays?
02:14It's going to be tough. The first group in the chamber, the EPP, warns that there is no way they should water down passengers' rights.
02:22So for the centre-right party, extending the delay to get compensation is a step in the wrong direction.
02:30The second group in the chamber, the SND, is on the same direction.
02:35The group feels that the new rules favour airliners and they ask also for automatic compensation,
02:44which means that passengers would get reimbursed within days and not within months.
02:50There are other amendments that are less controversial. The right to assistance, to information. What else could change?
02:58So the right of assistance is the right to get refreshment, food accommodation in case of delay or consolation.
03:06Airlines should provide this. If airlines fail to provide this, then passengers can make their own arrangement and get reimbursed afterwards.
03:15There's also the re-routing right. Airlines should provide the earliest opportunity for a re-routing for passengers,
03:23which means that maybe this re-routing will happen through another courier or even another transport mode.
03:31Furthermore, airlines should act as swiftly as possible within three hours of a disruption.
03:39Otherwise, a passenger could make its own arrangement and ask for compensation, which could be up to 400% of the original cost.
03:49There was not enough to block these amendments during the vote at the EU Council of Ministers, but four countries refused them.
03:59It's Germany, Slovenia, Portugal and Spain. What were the main arguments?
04:05So Spain is asking for legal precise wording to avoid, you know, technical issues that would allow airliners to avoid compensating passengers.
04:15And Madrid is particularly vocal on that question. The government fined in November five companies for abusive practices not linked with compensation,
04:25but with charging and luggage in cabins for instance. Germany also considers that it's going to reduce the level of protection of consumers.
04:33So we can expect Germany to be front-runner during the negotiation that is going to take place.
04:39The review also addresses abusive practices, notably the so-called no-show policy.
04:45Passengers cannot be denied boarding on a return flight simply because they did not use the outbound flight.
04:51In the event of cancellation less than 14 days before departure, airlines must provide pre-filled forms for payment of compensation.
04:59Our guest is Agustin Reina, Director General of the European Consumer Organization, an entity that has produced a position paper on this review.
05:10Your immediate reaction to the ministerial agreement was to say, and I quote,
05:16there's been a substantial reversal of fundamental rights. Let's start with the financial compensation for delays.
05:24What is the impact of changing from three to four hours in order to get that compensation?
05:29So member states' agreement to go from three hours to four hours of compensation would imply that roughly 50% of people
05:40that today are entitled to get compensation in case of a delay, they will not have this right anymore.
05:47Three hours have been identified also by the Court of Justice as the appropriate threshold.
05:52And consumers are used to this parameter in order to assess whether they can claim compensation or not.
06:00So, therefore, increasing that threshold gives more flexibility to the airlines,
06:06but also means that consumers will end up waiting for much longer in order not only to get their flight eventually,
06:12but also to claim compensation.
06:14Regarding the payment for cabin luggage, your organization has issued several warnings
06:20that decisions by the European Court of Justice are being disregarded. How so?
06:26The practice of charging consumers for their carry-on luggage on board, especially by low-cost carriers, is illegal.
06:34It's illegal under EU law and it's also illegal under the case law of the European Court of Justice.
06:40So one of the problems that we have identified in the texts that have been agreed by the member states
06:46is that now they're legitimizing that practice.
06:48And bringing a carry-on luggage doesn't have an extra cost for the airline.
06:52In this case, there is no additional cost for an airline.
06:56So basically, the practice of charging consumers is just basically to extract more money from their customers.
07:02Do you think this review could encourage airlines to go even further in charging for other services,
07:10especially the flagship airlines that tend to be less restrictive than the low-cost ones?
07:16We don't have a crystal ball, but the reality is that now this position of the member states leaves the door open.
07:23So we could see these business models evolving in the future.
07:27So there is a matter of ensuring that there is a minimum level of quality when European consumers take a flight.
07:34Airlines for Europe welcomed the government's position.
07:37This organization, which represents 80% of European air traffic, said that the review will allow for companies to offer the best possible package for consumers.
07:49However, depending on the European Parliament, the decade-long review may take some more time to reach conclusion.
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