- Target:
- Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation, United States government
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- www.law.cornell.edu
On April 10, a passenger was removed from United Express Flight 3411 against his will. Section 250.5 of Title 14 code by Department of Transportation regulates the amount of denied boarding compensation for passengers who are denied passage involuntarily. The regulations stipulate that the maximum compensation is to be reviewed every 2 years. Current maximum compensation is set to $1,350.
Over past several years, the airline have eliminated less profitable flights, increased the flight occupancy rates and achieved higher fares. This has increased the incidence of overbooked flights. Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports the average fare for domestic travel was $350.
The maximum compensation specified in Section 250.5 does not consider the amount paid by the affected passenger. As a consequence, by overbooking tickets at higher prices airlines benefit significantly while the regulation limits the financial risk for airlines due to possible compensation payments.
Therefore this petition asks Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation to revise the regulation by instituting minimum and maximum compensations linked to the maximum fare paid by any passenger with itinerary similar to that of affected passengers including the class of travel.
Section 250.5 of Title 14 code by Department of Transportation as it relates to the compensation for denied boarding should be revised as follows:
1. Compensation should be based on maximum fare paid by any passenger on the same flight with itineraries similar to affected passengers ("compensation fare basis").
2. Minimum compensation should be set to 2 times the compensation fare basis.
3. Maximum compensation should be set to 4 times the compensation fare basis.
The multiplier should be reviewed every 2 years.
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The Increase Maximum Compensation for Airline Bumping petition to Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation, United States government was written by Sam Kundu and is in the category Consumer Affairs at GoPetition.