I have mixed feelings about a recent
article put on Yahoo! about airlines and their responsibilities when they "bump" passengers. While the article does say the airlines have no legal responsibility to compensate passengers in certain cases, most people won't pay attention to that part. They'll just read that the airlines will pay you if you're bumped and they will start demanding things they aren't legally entitled to. I DO NOT IN ANY WAY MEAN TO SAY THAT NO ONE SHOULD EVER BE COMPENSATED, I only mean to say that in cases that compensation is not due, passengers who only read the pieces of the article that are beneficial to them, will be demanding something they are not entitled to. I DO WHOLE-HEARTEDLY think that passengers should be compensated in cases where the airline could have controlled or avoided the situation. I liken this article to when Oprah Winfrey said on her show that if the airline doesn't reconnect you with your bags in an IROP situation, just tell them you have life-saving medication in the bag and they have to get it for you. While this is true, it is information that is then misused to obligate the airlines to do something for you. (I searched for a link to be able to cite her saying it but couldn't find one.) I do remember hearing about it none-the-less. Back to the original idea though, I just think more attention should be payed to carefully explaining when compensation is due instead of just saying, "If you are bumped from a domestic flight, the airline must pay you the price of a one-way ticket up to $400 cash if you are rescheduled to reach your destination between one and two hours of the original arrival time. The maximum doubles to $800 if it takes longer." There are plenty of situations we can all think of that this statement is not true, weather being the most glaringly obvious. Thoughts anyone?