Stranded on island by airline

Press, 3 November 1981, Page 19

Stranded on island by airline

By

LES BLOXHAM,

travel editor

Visitors to New Caledonia must reconfirm their homeward flights when travelling with UTA, one of the few airlines in this part of the world still insisting that reconfirmations be made.

Passengers who fail to do so are likely to have their bookings cancelled, as a young Christchurch woman discovered to her . dismay when she recently tried to return to New Zealand after a brief holiday on the island.

Miss Linda Harrison and a friend. Miss Joanne Grofski; held valid tickets on UTA’s flight from Noumea to Auckland on September 3. but they were left behind, along with a number of other passengers. because the aircraft was over-booked. The two women believed that their reservations for the flight home had been reconfirmed by their tour guide in Noumea. The airline, on the other hand, claims it can find no trace of the reconfirmation. When Miss Harrison, who is a journalist with ■ “The Press", checked in for the flight, two hours before departure, they were told there

was "some irregularity.” In other words, their names were not on the list of reconfirmed. passengers.

The women told the airline’s manager at the airport, Mr P. Fermy, that the agent who had been handling their ground arrangements, in Noumea had assured them several days earlier that he had reconfirmed their, bookings. ■ ■ : :

•- Miss Harrison said she thought the airline would check the authenticity of their claim and then allocate seats. At 7.10 p.m.. five minutes before the aircraft was scheduled to depart, they were first told that they would not be leaving. The two young women were later joined by a number of other stranded travellers who also could not be accommodated on the flight. They included. Miss Harrison said, a family of five who claimed to have reconfirmed their bookings two days earlier.

“Some of the passengers accepted that they could not get on to the flight; others were' obviously dissatisfied with .the treatment they had received from UTA,” she said.

“Our immediate problem was that we had no New Caledonian money left — we thought we were leaving and had used it up — but we did need a place to stay for the night and transportation back to town. Mr Fermy’s reply to our problem: “I’m sorry we cannot help you.” ’’ The two women managed to get a ride into Noumea with an airport employee and stayed the night at a cheap hotel. Next morning they called on the agent who had : been handling their ground arrangements. He safd that he had definitely reconfirmed the bookings. Things began to happen rapidly as soon as the agent contacted the airline. They were reimbursed for their night’s accommodation, transferred to a better hotel, and provided with meals at no cost. Later they were told that they would be leaving the following day on a UTA flight to Vila, and from there to Auckland with Air Nauru. Miss Harrison nevertheless said she was not satisfied with the airline’s attitude . to the welfare of passengers stranded in a foreign country without money. The airline’s only concession to the two women on the night they were left behind was to send a telex message to Auckland Airport to inform friends that they would not be arriving. This apparently was not passed

on and their friends waited six hours before being advised.

On September 9 Miss Harrison wrote a long letter of complaint to UTA. On October 19 the airline replied that the matter had been investigated in Noumea. The tour agent had been unable to advise the date the rbconfirmation had been made or which UTA agent had processed it, the letter said.

“As a result of this situation it was decided by UTA, for commercial reasons, to absorb the accommodation and meal expenses, plus the cost of the revised routing from Noumea through Vila to Auckland," wrote the airline’s commercial administration manager, Mr B. R. Yockney. The letter also contained an apology. Mr Yockney confirmed to “The Press” last week that UTA required all passengers to reconfirm onward bookings. This did not apply solely to Noumea, but on all routes flown by the airline. He agreed that it would be difficult for anyone to prove that a reconfirmation had been made, although such information should be processed and retained in the company’s computer. Air New Zealand is one of the many airlines which no longer places an obligation on passengers to reconfirm. “Some passengers still do it as a matter of course and we don’t discourage them, but others who fail to do so certainly are not struck from the list of reservations." said Air New Zealand's director of public and corporate affairs, Mr D. C. Saxton, v

Passengers’ rights

The rights of passengers who are ‘bumped’ (airline jargon for ‘denied boarding’) vary around the world. The International Air Transport Association (1.A.T.A.) has a tidy and well-known arrangement which requires airlines unable to carry passengers on flights for which they hold confirmed reservations to arrange free accommodation and alternative transportation at no extra charge. Not so widely known, however, are the requirements attached to many' flights whereby passengers who are ‘bumped’ are entitled to compensation. These cash pay-

ments can, under some circumstances, be as high as $4OO and still leave the traveller with his flight coupon for later use or a refund. The United States Civil Aeronautics Board not only requires American-certifi-cated airlines to pay denied boarding comoensation, but also any other airline flying scheduled services either to or from the United States. The C.A.B.'s rules work something like this: Before anyone is unwillingly ‘bumped’ an airline may ask for volunteers to give up their seats in return for a cash offer or free transportation on another flight. For an involuntary ‘bumping’ the rate of compensation ranges from $37.50 to a maximum of $2OO, depending on the value of the flight-sector involved. The airline is then under an obligation to find another flight that will get the traveller to his destination within two hours of his original arrival time (if flying within the United States), or within four hours if the destination is an international one. Failure to meet these deadlines entitles the traveller to claim doilble compensation — ranging from $75 to $4OO. Passengers are not obliged to accept the compensation offered, and under the terms of the regulations, acceptance prevents further redress. An airline must also show passengers their “denied boarding” rights and entitlements in writing at the time they are “bumped". Travellers are similarly protected in Europe. Anyone with a valid reservation who is denied a seat on flights leaving Belgium, Denmark, Germany. France, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden, or Switzerland is, if the airline belongs to the Association of European Airlines (or an American certificated carrier), entitled to compensation if the delay, is longer than four hours within Europe, or six hours to destinations beyond. Payments range from $25 to $240. depending on the type of ticket and the value I of the flight sector involved, i

(The scheme does not apply to charter flights). All this does not help, travellers who flv on airlines not bound by such compensation schemes. In these circumstances what can a passenger do? First, find out from your travel agent or airline before leaving home, whether reconfirmations are necessary. .If they are. make the reconfirmation personally, at least three full days before departure.

If the reconfirmation is made by phone, take a note of the time and date, and ask for the name of the airline employee handling the call. Phone again a few hours later to check that the reconfirmation is in fact registered in the airline’s computer.

Report for the flight early to avoid embarrassing delays in long queues and a greater chance of not getting a seat. If. having followed all these guidelines, you are denied a seat, protest firmly and politely and ask to speak to the supervisor. Tell the supervisor that you will require vouchers for transportation, accommodation, and meals if he cannot

get you on to the flight or a convenient alternative one. If the airline refuses to meet such requests, ask for (and take note of) the reasons why. Try to obtain names and addresses of any other “bumped" passengers. The airline should be told if you have insufficient or no money. Some will pay a modest advance until such time as any dispute is settled. If forced to pay your own expenses after being denied boarding under valid circumstances, keep all receipts, including those for taxis, phone calls, and meals, for presentation without delay to the airline, together with an official complaint. If the original bookings were made by your travel agent, advise him of the problem and request that he also take up the matter with the airline. Finally, if you do have the misfortune to become embroiled in a wrangle with an airline, ensure that your claims are fair and realistic. Most airlines concede that mistakes can happen and are prepared to adopt a reasonable attitude.