Brussels - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reiterated its strong concern that proposed reforms by the European Parliament to EU261 consumer rights regulation will entrench and worsen its flaws, which have ensured ever-rising costs to consumers and airlines, while failing to tackle the main concerns of passengers.
The shortcomings of EU261 have been known for years. In June, European governments finally acted to put in place changes to EU261 that would safeguard connectivity and preserve the competitiveness of European aviation. While far from perfect, the European Council attempted to achieve a more balanced regulation – which has always been the objective of reviewing EU261. The most notable reform was to move the thresholds for compensation from the present three hours to four hours for short haul and six hours for long haul. This would reduce the perverse incentive for airlines to cancel delayed flights, and be consistent with passengers’ preference to arrive late rather than not at all.
The European Parliament is seeking not just to eliminate these threshold improvements, but add numerous additional measures, such as the ability to bring a cabin bag for free. There is no evidence passengers want these provisions and much less that they are willing to pay higher fares as a result. IATA’s passenger survey in May showed 72% prefer to have the lowest fare and pay for additional services as required. (....)