Complaints and enquiries - Air Transport Users Council

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6 Telephone enquiries in 2008/09 Type of enquiry Number of enquiries 2008/09 2007/08 Cancellations 1685 1545 Delays 734 691 Mishandled baggage 681 756 Reservation issues 610 410 Ticketing / refund issues 391 395 Denied boarding 299 257 Schedule changes 238 147 Airline failure 231 98 Taxes, fees and charges 158 70 Baggage allowance 132 91 Missed connections 129 107 In-flight services 107 92 Diverted flight 105 90 Special needs 77 63 Missed departure 69 - Documents 68 65 Fares 61 94 Seating 54 98 Ground services 46 69 Check-in problems 46 59 Other 433 298 Total 6354 5495 Missed departure was not categorised in 2007/08.
7 Complaints under Regulation EC 261/2004 on compensation and assistance for denied boarding, cancellation and delays Under Regulation EC 261/2004, the AUC is designated as the complaints handling body for passengers departing from UK airports, whilst the CAA is the designated enforcement body. We received 2919 written complaints that could be categorised as coming under Regulation EC 261/2004, compared to 2928 the year before. A breakdown of the number of complaints by type is in the table below. Type of complaint 2008/09 2007/08 Cancellations 1968 1896 Delays 681 790 Denied boarding 252 242 Downgrading 18 (not categorised) Total 2919 2928 As with 2007/08, written complaints under the Regulation accounted for about half of the total complaints we received last year. However, the number of complaints under the Regulation decreased very slightly (in comparison to an 11% increase in overall complaints). Delays We are pleased to report that complaints about delays decreased for the third year running. Last year we received 681 complaints compared to 790 in 2007/08, and 1969 in 2005/6, the first full year after the Regulation came into force. We like to think that this is a sign that passengers are increasingly getting what they should be entitled to under the Regulation following a delay. However, complaints to us show that a number of airlines still continue to sometimes flout the rules (whether intentionally or not) when a flight is delayed. Cancellations Complaints about cancellations increased slightly in 2008/09 compared to 2007/08. However, we are making headway in getting redress for passengers in terms of compensation. This is something which has often been difficult to achieve because under Regulation EC 261/2004 airlines do not have to pay compensation when a flight is cancelled under “extraordinary circumstances”, which airlines claim tends to be on most occasions. Last year we managed to get compensation for 128 complainants who contacted us compared to 60 the year before. We had particular success in persuading one airline to
Page 1: AIR TRANSPORT USERS COUNCIL ANNUAL
Page 4 and 5: 2 CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION There h
Page 6 and 7: 4 REVIEW OF THE YEAR Complaints and
Page 10 and 11: 8 compensate a number of passengers
Page 12 and 13: 10 Schedule changes Last year we re
Page 14 and 15: 12 Representing passengers Consumer
Page 16 and 17: 14 Besides, we suggested that it wa
Page 18 and 19: 16 Financial protection Last year t
Page 20 and 21: 18 to change the date or the name o
Page 22 and 23: 20 two-thirds of the standards and
Page 24 and 25: 22 Consultations and Inquiries Civi
Page 26 and 27: 24 Guest speakers at AUC Council me
Page 28 and 29: 26 She has written several text boo
Page 30 and 31: 28 Secretariat (as of March 31 st 2
Page 32 and 33: 30 • The AUC shall consist of a C
Page 34: 32 GLOSSARY APD Air Passenger Duty

Complaints and enquiries - Air Transport Users Council

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