Airlines & Rule 240

From George Hobica at MSNBC on-line:

Before the deregulation of the U.S. airline industry in 1978, every U.S. airline had to follow the same set of rules — including those dealing with "irregularities" such as canceled flights.

In those days, airline fares and routes were regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board, the predecessor to today's Federal Aviation Administration.

One of these rules, number 240, specified that if an airline couldn't get you to your destination on time, it was required to put you on a competitor's flight if it would get you there faster than your original airline's next flight. Airlines were even required to put you in first class if that's all that was available.

It would appear that many airlines still follow this rule, but don't talk about it. The article details many airlines and their current policies. Also note:

It's important to emphasize that these rules generally apply to situations within the airline's control, such as mechanical problems. But if the flight irregularity results from a "force majeure event" such as bad weather, a riot, or a work stoppage, then all bets are off. And the legacy carriers may not have agreements with their newer competitors such as JetBlue and Southwest, so that they might not re-route you on those carriers.

Even if you are flying an airline that adheres to Rule 240, its employees may be reluctant to rewrite your ticket on a competitor because of the financial implications of doing so. So it pays to print out and carry a copy of the contract of carriage and present it to the gate agent if necessary.

If you fly, you might want to take a look.

14 September 2007