HK Magazine

April 08, 2005

Thats the Ticket - p. 10-14

HK checks in with the travel experts on passenger rights and getting the best deals.
By Megan Insall

We know you’re well traveled, but just how well informed are you when things go wrong? Missed flight? Missing luggage? Booking mistake? We’ve done the homework for you, and here we present the answers to all those burning questions about what happens when you lose control of your travel arrangements – plus handy tips to take the trouble out of traveling.

Worst-Case Scenarios

You slept in and missed your flight, not to mention an important meeting with your CEO.

Besides investing in a new alarm clock, you will also have to invest some time sweet-talking the airline staff. You’re in a bind, but just how much of a bind depends on what airline you’re flying and what sort of ticket you’re holding.

When it comes to traveling, the less you pay, the more you get restrictions, that is. Some classes of tickets may allow you to transfer to another flight at no extra cost, while others may mean you have to buy a completely new ticket.

Cathay Pacific’s assistant manager Sally Tan says, “It depends on the type of air ticket the passenger is holding. If he or she is holding an air ticket that does not allow transfer to another flight, he or she will be required to buy another ticket.” And Laurence Chin, general manager of United Airlines, says, “Passengers are advised to check with the reservations desk, who would also be able to assist in making alternative travel arrangements for those wanting to catch another flight.”

If you’re flying with a budget airline, you can expect less sympathy. The rules are usually black and white: You miss your flight, you buy a new ticket.

Your flight was delayed owing to “technical difficulties” and you missed your connecting flight. Will you be compensated?

Technical difficulties? Could it be that the pilot is sick or maybe someone left the lights on when parking the plane the night before? Whatever the reason, the old caveat holds true – you get what you pay for. But in circumstances such as these, you are likely to get more sympathy too. Delays happen; in fact, according to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (www.bts.gov), in January, more than a quarter of flights within the US were delayed, and, of these, almost seven percent were due to “air carrier delay,” meaning the airline was at fault.

What will save your bottom line in this case is not just your class of ticket and what airline(s) you’re flying, but also where you’re flying to and from. If your connecting flight is with the same airline, then you will be accommodated on another flight at no extra charge. You may even be compensated for your inconvenience, for example, if you are required to stay overnight. Or, if you’re flying with different airlines within the same alliance, such as Star Alliance, One World or Sky Team, the chance to another flight will probably be smoother than between unrelated airlines.

If you’re lucky enough to be munching on a baguette at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport or star-spotting at Heathrow when you discover your flight’s been delayed, you can rest assured there’s someone looking out for you. Your angel up in airspace is none other than the European Union (europa.eu.int). As of Feb 17 of this year, passengers on any flight, domestic or international, departing from any country in the EU, or traveling on any European airline, are protected by new legislation regarding flight delays, overbooking and cancellations. This states: “in the event of long delays (two hours or more, depending on the distance of the flight), passengers must in very case be offered free meals and refreshments plus two free telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or emails; if the time of departure is deferred until the next day, passengers must also be offered hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and the place of accommodation; when the delay is five hours or longer, passengers may opt for reimbursement of the full cost of the ticket together with, when relevant, a return flight to the first point of departure.” Not bad for an extra few hours of duty-free shopping.

But remember, the responsibility to compensate passengers lies with the airline suffering the delay. There’s no point moaning to your connecting airline, as it is unlikely – and not obliged – to make alternative arrangements for you. Also, if you’re traveling on a shoestring and flying budget, you may face more difficulty. As a spokesperson for budget airline Tiger Airways explains, “Tiger Airways does not accept responsibility for any delays experienced. We only sell tickets for point to point flights and do not accept responsibility for any delays experience on other airlines.”

Your travel plans changed at the last minute and you need to change your flight. Will it cost you?

In most instances, being fickle will cost you. But how much depends again on the airline or booking agent, and the type of ticket you are holding. Online travel portal ZUJI’s Sean Seah, explains, “The usual rule of thumb is, the more expensive the ticket, the less likely you will need to pay for changes to schedule. The cheaper the ticket, the more conditions apply, and it’s likely that you’ll have to pay a penalty.” For example, if you’re flying Cathay Pacific, Tan says, “If passengers are holding tickets that do not allow them to change, they need to buy a brand new ticket if the ticket allows, there is a surcharge.”

For British Airways, the case is similar, “ those on restricted tickets cannot change their flight details,” explains its marketing manager for Southeast Asia, Rob McDonald, “It is the restrictions that apply to these tickets that enable us to make them cheaper than fully flexible ones.”

You arrive at the airport to check in and are informed that you have been “bumped” off your flight owing to overbooking. What does this mean and what happens now?

Most airlines practice some overbooking to compensate for “no-shows.” But rest assured, if you are bumped, when you do finally leave the airport, it won’t be empty handed. Why bumping happens is explained by UA on its website (www.united.com): “It’s our goal to have exactly as many customers as we have seats on each flight. It helps us keep service viable and fares reasonable. Because circumstances can cause customers to fail to show up for their reserved flights, we sometimes reserve more seats than we have on the aircraft.” But, airline’s Laurence Chin says, “In the unlikely event that passengers are unable to make our flight, our immediate priority will be to ensure the passenger gets onto another flight with as little inconvenience as possible, and at no extra cost.” What this usually means is that inconvenienced passengers will either be placed on alternative flights and/or receive compensation for their trouble. But what does this mean in dollars and cents? According to Cathay Pacific’s Sally Tan, “denied boarding compensation is based on flight distance, class of travel and arrival delay time.”

As a European Airline, BA is subject to EU regulations. And these says that if passengers are denied boarding or their flight is cancelled (with the exception of some extraordinary circumstance), depending on their situation, they are entitled to “reimbursement of the cost of the ticket within seven days or a return flight to the first point of departure or re-routing to their final destination; care (refreshments, meals, hotel accommodation, transport between the airport and place of accommodation, two free telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or emails); compensation” up to 600 euros (approximately HK$6,000).

Your flight is delayed but you have already paid a deposit for your accommodation. Is your deposit lost?

Unfortunately, it seems that when it comes to services on the ground, compensation is a grey area. Charles Tee, chief operating officer for Asia, of last-minute accommodation specialist Wotif.com, explains, “All our accommodation partners set their own policies regarding cancellations and this is made known to the customer at the point of booking. If the property is flexible, it may not impose any penalties, particularly as this is through no fault of the customer. We too exercise total flexibility and if the customer can provide us with the details of the additional administrative charges or penalties when assisting customers in re-booking their accommodation.”

Other variables also come into play in these situations – besides how well you plead your case – such as the method and timing of booking. Tom Racette of hotel group Accor, says, “It varies depending on how the reservation is booked (call center, travel agent, Internet, etc.) and the time of the year. If booked through Accor Reservation Services, there is no cancellation fee; if booked through travel agents, it is usually a one-night penalty (per reservation) depending on the contract with the agent; and if booked over the Internet, the room night is charged.” So, the convenience of online booking may just cost you more.

Your luggage doesn’t appear on the conveyor belt. Is it just your bad luck?

No luggage means no toothbrush and no clothes, not to mention no clean underwear – bad luck by anyone’s standards. The good news is, though, that with the sophisticated tracer services used by many airlines, the chance of your luggage being lost for good is very slim. BA’s McDonald says such situations are rare: “The airline handles around 50 million bags a year and 99.7 percent of the luggage arrives on time. In the unlikely event that baggage is misplaced, British Airways uses a computerized baggage tracing system and the airline will arrange for a convenient delivery method to return the baggage to the passenger.”

However, if your luggage is lost, you are entitled to submit a claim. UA’s Chin has some advice for this situation: “Lost, damaged, or delayed property must be reported within 24 hours, and a claim made in writing within 45 days, giving a full description and the value of the missing property.” In many cases, the airline will compensate you for reasonable costs incurred while your luggage is AWOL, but bear in mind that you and the airline may hold different ideas about what is considered “reasonable.” Although you can’t live without your favorite D&G fragrance or SKII “miracle water,” your airline may well disagree.

Navigating the Industry

You want to see the world without it costing the world. What is the best and cheapest way to book flights to multiple countries and cities?

So you fancy croissants in Paris, hot dogs in New York and chicken masala in Mumbai? A round-the-world ticket is what you need. These days, there are loads of choices when it comes to multiple destinations, with many afforded by the airline alliances. The three major alliances are Star Alliance (www.staralliance.com), One World (www.oneworld.com) and Sky Team (www.skyteam.com), and all offer round-the-world tickets.

Star Alliance offers round-the-world fare with up to 15 stopovers up to a distance of 39,000 miles as well as a number of continent specific tickets. One World’s equivalent is based on the number of continents visited and not the number of miles flown. Sky Team offers round-the-world tickets and the Europass, which lets you travel throughout Europe on a single ticket. Check each alliance’s website for details. As for destinations, Star Alliance offers 133, One World has 135, and Sky Team 137. And if that still doesn’t satisfy you, you’ll just have to save your pennies for somewhere more exotic – the moon perhaps?

You’ve booked your flights and you want a reasonable three-star hotel. How can you avoid getting stuck in a dump?

It’s happened to the best of us. The resort photos on the web look breathtaking, the adjectives describing it are enticing, the only thing you don’t have is a personal account from an actual guest. How bad could it possibly be? The answer is: bad, really bad. But how can you avoid being dumped?

Travelers have no other choice than to rely on the experts, for example, travel portals such as ZUJI, Wotif.com, and Asia-hotels.com. ZUJI’s Sean Seah says, “ZUJI customers are well traveled, belong to a high-income bracket, and are discerning and demanding.” And so the organization is selective when it comes to picking travel industry partners. “We have a team dedicated to selecting only the best available for flights, hotels, and resorts,” he says. “We ensure these airlines, hotels and tour partners meet the brand standards ZUJI travelers have come to expect.” In order to tap into customer’s needs, the ZUJI Travel Awards (www.zujitravelawards.com) was launched recently, to “provide [customers] a platform to voice their opinion on their travel experiences.”

Hong Kong-based Asia-hotels.com already gives its customers the chance to review the places they have stayed in: look up your hotel on its website (www.asiahotels.com) and you’ll find a review by the organization as well as the warts-and-all opinions of those who have stayed there recently.

Charles Tee’s team at Wotif.com also understands the importance of not disappointing the sophisticated modern traveler. He says, “Wotif.com has a team of product development managers (PDM) who manage the relationships with our accommodation partners to ensure the accuracy of information provided on our website. Before a property is listed, the PDM will do some research to ensure it will meet the needs and standards our customers seek. Only then are the properties admitted into our portfolio. The PDM also makes regular visits to all Wotif.com partner properties to ensure they meet the levels of service and standards we expect for our customers.” And for Wotif.com’s PDMs, our sympathy goes out to you, must be a tough job, huh?

You want to get as much done in the office as possible before catching a flight. Must you be at the airport two hours before your flight?

If duty-free shopping is a low priority, then checking in a full two hours before your flight departs might be excessive. With this in mind, some airlines are now offering alternatives, such as phone and Internet check-in options. And in Hong Kong, of course, most airlines allow their customers to use the city check-in at the IFC up to 24 hours before departure, meaning you don’t need to arrive Chek Lap Kok until an hour or so before the flight leaves.

Online check-in is also available to all Cathay Pacific passengers. “The advantage of online check-in is that passengers can now select seats directly from the graphical seat map, which clearly displays the available seats in a specified travel class,” Tan says.

Members of BA’s frequent flyer program, Executive Club, and passengers flying from London Heathrow can currently check-in online, and there are plans to roll out this service to other markets.

You travel a lot and often at short notice, and as a result you’ve been known to travel uninsured. Is there an easier way to make sure you’re covered?

For frequent flyers, the best option to consider would be a year-round insurance. Most insurance companies, including AIA (www.aia.com.hk), offer travel insurance on both a per trip basis and an annual basis. This means that for a one-time annual fee, you can travel last minute and know you’re covered. Lost luggage: hundreds of dollars. Physical injury: thousands of dollars. Piece of mind: priceless. Alternatively, some insurance companies offer 24-hour “phone and fly” options. Once registered, all you need to do is call before your flight to activate your insurance.

You never travel anywhere without your complete winter wardrobe – just in case. Needless to say, you don’t travel light. Why is it when you fly different routes the luggage allowance per passenger varies?

It’s true, different routes offer passengers different luggage allowance allocations. UA’s Chin explains, “For checked baggage, passengers traveling to the US are allowed two bags each not exceeding 32kg. Intra-Asia travelers are allowed a maximum of 20kg to be checked in. The allowances vary owing to the various restrictions of the countries and as regulated by the International Air Travel Association (IATA).

On its website, IATA (www.iata.org) explains the difference: “In general, the free baggage allowance is expressed in one of two ways. The ‘weight concept’ defines the amount of baggage entitled by the passenger’s ticket in kilos. The ‘piece concept’ defines the amount of baggage entitled by the passenger’s ticket by the number of bags… The ‘piece concept’ is generally in use on flights within, to and from Canada and to the United States. The ‘weight concept’ is generally used in the rest of the world”.