Compensation !

Just suppose you and a group of friends have planned to attend the Aussie Rules grand final in Melbourne.  You have secured those hard to get tickets for the best seats at the ground and booked overnight accommodation at one of that city's best hotels.   Work commitments dictate that you will fly in on an early morning flight - watch the game at the MCG - and " party - party - party " the night away if your favourite team wins.

You arrive at the airport the required two hours prior to boarding to book in, and to your dismay there seems to be a problem.  That ominous word  " Delayed " appears on the flight schedule board.  You can see an aircraft standing at the gate nominated for your flight but it is surrounded by maintenance trucks.  Enquiries are bringing little information - and finally that dreaded word " Cancelled " appears on the notice board.  Your cherished weekend away to watch a major sporting event just evaporated - and you are starting to calculate the financial cost.

Of course the airline will refund the fares for the cancelled flight, but what about those very expensive - and now useless - tickets to the MCG ?   The hotel is not prepared to waive that confirmed room booking as this was a booked out weekend in Melbourne - and they regard your absence as a " no show ".    You find that you are seriously out of pocket - and you want compensation from the airline !

In Australia the matter of compensation is entirely at the discretion of the airlines.   They usually pick up the tab for putting passengers into hotel rooms if a flight delay strands people overnight, but " missed connections " and other expenses are a matter for " negotiation ".   Passengers can seek help from the Airlines Customer Advocate ( ACA ) but compensation is a legal void.

In European Union countries this is covered by legislation.   Passengers are able to claim up to $ 864 compensation unless the airline has given two weeks notice of a cancellation, or there are exceptional circumstances, usually involving extreme weather or the presence of volcanic ash delaying flights. It is suggested that we need similar legislation here.

The problem is that once delay becomes a legislated cost to the airlines it will quickly find it's way onto ticket prices, and in most cases delay only causes minor inconvenience, not financial loss.   The obvious answer is to be protected by travel insurance.   Those flying to attend a nominated event or to join a cruise ship at another port would do well to cover that travel with the very few dollars needed to get full insurance protection.   The airlines would be well advised to offer such protection at the point of ticket sales.  Blanket cover to selected compensation levels would bring peace of mind at very low cost.

Hundreds of thousands of people fly incident free each day.   Those whose flight time is critical to mesh with other connections  would be wise to insure the journey - and not leave the issue of compensation to chance !