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Stranded at the airport? Don’t forget Rule 240

Deadly Sushi

The One, The Only, Sushi
SUPER Site Supporter
This could be VERY useful! :thumb:


By Peter Greenberg
TODAYShow.com contributor

A few years ago, at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, I noticed something strange on the departure boards. American Airlines had three flights scheduled that afternoon from ORD to Boston, and all were apparently operating on time. United, on the other hand, had three flights scheduled from ORD to Boston, but none were operating on time. In fact, all three United flights showed "canceled."

I smelled a rat. I went to the United counter and asked the reason for the cancellations. "Weather."

Weather? The airlines couldn't have it both ways. Either American Airlines pilots were irresponsible, crazy air jockeys who were going to tease the gods and fly into the face of serious storms, or United's official cancellation reason was a convenient untruth.

I checked the weather in both Chicago and Boston: totally clear.

I went back out to the United gates and informed the counter agents that I knew the weather was fine and also explained that all the American flights were operating without problem. And then I invoked Rule 240 — which states that in the event of any flight delay or cancellation caused by anything other than weather, the airline would fly me on the next available flight — not their next available flight, which might not leave for another 24 hours.
And guess what happened? A lot of United passengers made it to Boston that day — on American.

Then, a year later, I was scheduled to fly on Delta from Pensacola to Miami. When I got to the counter, the agent told me the flight was canceled. She volunteered nothing else. So I calmly suggested that she invoke Rule 240. Once she knew that I knew the rule — and only then — did she rewrite my ticket, and those of the passengers in line behind me, and we got to Miami that day on an unusual routing: Pensacola to New Orleans and then on to Miami. Rule 240 allowed me to get to where I needed to go.

I've written about Rule 240 for years. And yet, every time I tell people about it, there are those who claim that my information is either out of date or plain wrong. That's led to more confusion, and in at least one case a writer argued that I had simply fabricated Rule 240 out of thin air.

Well, I didn't make up Rule 240. It was created by the old Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) way before the days of airline deregulation. And the rule clearly stated what an airline's responsibilities were to passengers in the event of a flight cancellation or delay.

Rule 240 mandated that an airline facing a delayed or canceled flight had to transfer you to another carrier if 1) the second carrier could get you to your destination more quickly than the original line and 2) it had available seats. In pre-deregulation days, all the big U.S. airlines adhered to this practice.

In the days of regulation, the U.S. government required all airlines to submit tariffs containing fares, fare conditions, baggage rules, and what this meant is that the airlines also had to submit details about what they would and would not do in a wide range of circumstances. Those tariffs, in effect, constituted the contract between airlines and travelers. And in an interesting semantic approach, the tariff paragraphs were described as "rules."

In its day, paragraph 240 was perhaps the most pro-passenger rule ever enacted to protect air travelers. And then, when the CAB was deregulated out of existence in 1978, the rule survived the transition. Flight delayed or canceled? An airline counter or gate agent could easily invoke Rule 240 to endorse your ticket over to another carrier. In colloquial airline usage, the rule soon became a verb, as in ... "Hey, could you '240' me?" Airlines would ... and did just that.

Of course, in today's deregulated environment, when airlines no longer have to post tariffs, the argument can be made that Rule 240 therefore no longer exists. Officially, that's true, but in practice a majority of airlines still honor the old rules, 240 among them. The newer carriers — those that do not have interline agreements with the major legacy airlines, like JetBlue, Southwest and Air Tran, never had Rule 240 to deal with, and thus don't, as a matter of company policy, endorse tickets over to other carriers (although JetBlue has been known to outright buy tickets on other carriers to accommodate some of its passengers).

In the past few years, just about every cash-strapped airline has amended its "contract of carriage" to try to change the definition of Rule 240. Still, in practice, airlines continue to reluctantly use it — to our advantage — every day. They reluctantly use it because of financial realities — to endorse a ticket over to another carrier also means the airline loses that revenue.

It's really an issue of semantics and interpretation. I'm here to tell you Rule 240 does exist. In fact, in the last few weeks, I've used the rule twice when flights were delayed — and it worked like a charm. But more on that later.

On the official level, this is what airlines now say they will do in the event of a delay or cancellation:

United Airlines changed its language to say that in the event of a delay or cancellation, it would still fly you on a competitor, but not necessarily in the same class of service as on your original United flight. Delta still has a Rule 240 in its contract of carriage, but conveniently omits the section in which it used to say it wold fly you on another carrier in the event of a "flight irregularity." American only promises to get you out on one of its own flights. Alaska and Northwest airlines have stayed with most of the original paragraph 240 language.

So, the real bottom line here is that while no one airline is legally mandated to follow Rule 240, many of them do — if they want to. And the real key is that you have to ask — not demand — and in many cases, you'll be accommodated.
 

urednecku

Active member
Site Supporter
Wish we had known about last year. My daughter flew from Florida to India, via several lay-overs, then on the return flight, had several more delays. We will sure try to remember this from now on!
BTW, she is in India now, & supposed to come back to the United States Friday. I'll try to get word to her. :thankyou2
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
From:

http://www.fly.faa.gov/FAQ/faq.html

[FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica]Where can I find information on Rule 240?
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica]The term "Rule 240" refers to a rule that existed before airline deregulation. There is no longer an actual Rule 240. The term, as it is now used, refers to each airline´s "conditions of carriage" policy. You would need to contact the airlines to obtain this.

You may also be interested in the [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica]Aviation Consumer Protection Division[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica]´s web site, specifically: [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica]Fly-Rights, A Consumer Guide to Air Travel[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica].
[/FONT]
 

Deadly Sushi

The One, The Only, Sushi
SUPER Site Supporter
Airlines formed after deregulation—such as JetBlue, Southwest, and Spirit— were never required to follow these rules. Even so, some of these newer airlines may attempt to put you on another airline if there's no other choice. "While we don't have a traditional Rule 240," says Todd Burke, JetBlue's Vice President for Corporate Communications, "we will purchase confirmed seats as necessary on another airline to get customers to their final destination in the event of irregularities within our control." In addition, if there's a "significant delay" JetBlue's compensation may include a "partial or full refund" in addition to accommodation on another airline.

In recent years, however, as "legacy" carriers such as American, United, and Delta struggle to remain profitable, and some attempt to emerge from bankruptcy, many have quietly weakened their Rule 240s. United, for instance, no longer states in its contract of carriage that it will fly you in first class, if that's all that's available, on a competitor, although it will transport you in coach class on another airline.
Delta although it still has a rule 240 in its contract, no longer makes any mention of transporting passengers on other airlines in the event of a flight disruption.

Continental will upgrade a delayed passenger only on its own flights—not on a competitor's--and only if doing so will get you to your destination earlier than would otherwise be the case. US Airways has nothing in its terms of transportation concerning Rule 240, although spokesperson Amy Kudwa says that the airline still applies the rule except on international flights.

Northwest Airlines has a very traditional contract, little changed from the days of regulation. It will put you on another airline, in first class if necessary, if your original flight is delayed 60 minutes or longer.
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" (things such as weather, 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 reroute you on those carriers.
Even if you are flying an airline that adheres to Rule 240, owing to the financial implications its employees may be reluctant to rewrite your ticket on a competitor. So it pays to print out and carry a copy of the contract of carriage and present it to the gate agent if necessary.
 

Big Dog

Large Member
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I was ready to give it a try today BUT all went without a hitch!
 

Deadly Sushi

The One, The Only, Sushi
SUPER Site Supporter
Thats too bad. :yum: I wanted to find out what happens! I know my VP of Profesional services uses it.
 

waybomb

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Copied and pasted another website...


OK boys and girls. Here is the deal. Mr Greenberg does not work for an airline. He does not make the rules nor i he correct on quite a bit of what he has written if he is the person whom I am thinking of.

Pre 9/11 when we were rolling in the dough and times were good we were known to re-book full fare and premium (read frequent flyers) on other airlines. When I rebook you on another carrier I do not get a discount. If I rebook you a few hours to departure I get to pay FULL FARE to the other carrier. If you bought your ticket 2 months ago and paid $200 I get to pay $2,000.

Now fast forward to 2008. Who here thinks that I am going to pay United $2,000 to fly your cheap ass to NYC because a flight canceled? Yea right. I have a bridge for you too.

What will happen is I I'll put you on the stand-by list for the remaining flight(s). If you do not get on I'll comp you a room and we will try again tomorrow. There is nothing in the Rules of Carriage that say I have to put you on another carrier. Mr Greenberg is right on the part that it says 'next available'. Since it does not specify that it must be another carrier, we assume it means us. Since we make the rules, that's what we do.

I guarantee the first time an agent rebooks a 14 day advance fare and authorizes a reaccommodation on to United for full fare, the next conversation he/she will have will be with a supervisor as they are escorted out of the building.

I so hate when people who know nothing about a topic write a article about said topic. When one of these would make print, our phones would light up and we had to tell people that the author is a dumb ass and not in touch with reality. Thanks for playing and you have a nice day. Buh Bye!

OK, just read his example of his "240" on American. AA flys from St Thomas to San Juan. This was not a 240. It was a simple re-route. We put him on ourselves. We did not pay another carrier. Grrrrrrrrr What a freaking idiot.

As for his second example he does not mention the type of fare he has. As mentioned above, I am guessing he is on a full fare ticket (no penalty) ad most carriers have identical fares from point A to B. We have to because your cheap skates will fly the cheapest fare even if it is only a dollar. Also, since he was probably on business his company probably bought a ticket and since they do not want him staying the weekend they buy full fares. Less hassle to change or cancel if plans change.

I hate people like him. Makes our lives that much more of a PIA when we have to be the bad guy. We always want Greenbergs home phone so we can have the passenger call him direct.

Bottom line. It ain't gonna happen for most of you.
 
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