Swiss Air has overbooked, how much does it owe to passengers evicted from the plane?
Overbooking or overbooking is the act of taking more reservations on board an aircraft than the latter can contain. This practice is not only common on charter flights, it also extends to other flights. Fortunately, as a passenger you have rights.
By suffering such harm, how should you react?
Important: The following information is limited to European flights or to connections served from EU airports. That is to say to one of the member countries of the European Union, or to Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.
Accept or not the proposal made by the Swiss company which selected you and registered your name on the list of passengers who must not leave (by placing yourself in another plane deployed to your destination).
Its airline has overbooked, some travelers including you will not be able to leave on the flight. It may be interesting for you to volunteer in exchange for benefits and interests (upgrade, free night at the hotel, other free services, …)
Volunteer yourself by agreeing not to leave:
In case of overbooking on your flight, if you choose to volunteer not to leave, Swissair must leave you the choice between two types of compensation:
Get another flight to your final destination as soon as possible. You can also choose a flight at a later date at your convenience.
Refund your ticket. The carrier must also offer you a return flight to your point of departure if you are in transit.
But that’s not all, because your good will deserves compensation. You have the right to negotiate additional services with the airline. Do not agree to volunteer without additional compensation. If you are in transit, why not take advantage of two nights of hotel instead of one to visit the places?
Otherwise, if you refuse to volunteer, two scenarios can arise:
The carrier chooses you from the passenger list.
The transporter denies you access to the plane. You then have the same rights as in the event of cancellation.
The difference between volunteering not to board and not being boarded is that you can negotiate an additional benefit if you volunteer.
Air carriers are trying to evade responsibility, so make sure they respect your rights.
If you are not on board, the Swiss air carrier has the obligation to offer you 2 solutions. So you choose between:
Swiss Air will provide you with an early flight to your final destination under identical conditions
It offers you another flight to your final destination, at a later date chosen by yourself (subject to availability), under identical conditions.
If the distance between you and your destination is less than or equal to 1,500 km, you will receive € 125 if you arrive 2 hours after the scheduled time, and € 250 beyond.
If the distance between you and your destination is more than 1,500 km and less than or equal to 3,500 km, you will receive € 200 if you arrive within 3 hours of the scheduled time. You will receive € 400 compensation if you arrive more than 4 hours from what was planned.If your flight is not in one of the above cases, you will receive a lump sum of € 300 if you arrive within 4 hours after what was planned, and € 600 if you arrive after this time .
It is important to inform you that the carrier pays you this compensation in cash, bank transfer or check. He cannot impose travel vouchers on you. Compensation must be made within 7 days of the loss.
The air carrier seeks at all costs to deprive you of your rights:
You are thus supposed to gather the necessary proofs by starting by collecting in a file the proofs of the overbooking and the non-respect of your rights:
– Copy of your reservation,
– Copy of an identity document,
– Bank identification statement for reimbursement,
– Evidence of airline compensation proposal, if you have it.
It would be preferable that resorting directly to lawyers, they are people who master the law and who know how to defend and protect your rights, either by taking amicable or legal proceedings.
Contact the court: This is what legal experts absolutely do if the dispute is not resolved amicably.