A holiday season arrives in December when people and families decide to travel and move. It is possible that there are contingencies: delays, cancellations, overselling (overbooking) or advertising fraud, not to mention cases of unworthy treatment and advertising tricks. If you do it by a means of air transport, with the reforms published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on June 26, 2017, two federal laws (Civil Aviation and Consumer Protection) have some rights that I suggest print and carry with him.
- Term to cancel without responsibility. If after buying your ticket, 24 hours have not elapsed, you can cancel it and the airline must refund the price paid. The total amount including rate, taxes, commissions and any other charges charged must be returned. This rule is known as the “cooling of consent” based on which consumers can regret purchases made without deep meditation. It resembles the existing rule in shared times (although not a 7-day period of reflection after signing the contract).
- Passengers with some disability and in advanced age. First, that they have the right to transport the instruments inherent to their condition such as wheelchairs, walkers, prostheses, crutches, canes or any other, as long as the person who travels makes use of it personally and is directly associated with the disability that presents. Second, in the case of overbooking, they will have priority to address in the substitution of other volunteers. The rule extends to older adults, unaccompanied minors and pregnant women.
- The passenger of legal age with a child under two years of age. Here the rule does not provide for more than one child per adult. Couples, each can bring a child. Maybe it’s unconstitutional for families with triplets or more children. They only have the right to carry a stroller. They have no right to seat or luggage.
- Tickets with connections or round trip. They have the right to use the segments they want. They must notify after 24 hours of the segment not used (this rule should have been the other way around, to favor the principle of maximum protection to the consumer). The notice must be made through the means available to the concessionaire. I suggest you do it by email. If the airline does not report the means, it can use any that the airline uses (it can be up to Twitter).
- Rules applicable to delays. In all cases, passengers have the right to make phone calls and send emails. The particular cases:
More than one hour, but less than two: the right to discounts on subsequent flights to the same destination or (alternatively) food and beverages (the principle of competition applies: the airlines will compete to compensate in the best way). More than two hours, but less than four: minimum discounts of 7.5 percent of the amount paid.
More than four hours: besides all the above, it is equated to the “cancellation of the flight” situation, and they are entitled to all of the following: 100% of the amount paid or (the wording of the law seems to contain an error but its interpretation can suggest the existence of an alternative obligation, that’s why I put a “or”) substitute transport on the first available flight; In addition to calls and emails, food and beverages, hotel accommodation if required overnight including transportation in both directions.
The transportation can be not immediate but later, but on the understanding that it should be on the date that best suits the passenger, who has the right in the case of requesting the refund or requesting the transportation at a later date to the immediate one, to a compensation in money for at least 25% of the price paid.
- Overbooking or excess sales. The same rules apply as in the previous case (point 5) if the company denies transportation to the passenger due to overbooking, with the understanding that disabled persons, seniors, unaccompanied minors and pregnant women will always have priority of boarding (in which case it will be enough that they express it without needing to prove it). It is very important that they document (“check-in”) on time (online is the best) or that they are submitted at the time set for documenting at the airport (it is enough to be in line with the airline) otherwise the rule for overbooking will not it will benefit them. Pay close attention to this point. Request the presence of the airport authority to record your presence in the queue or any circumstance that may be used for your benefit.
- Free luggage In regard to the documented (the one below) are entitled to 15 kilos if the aircraft is less than 20 passengers capacity; to 25 kilos in aircraft with greater capacity. It is necessary to review the restriction rules to the number of pieces in which it can be distributed and the volume of them. The hand luggage that can be carried must not be more than 10 kilos and can be up to two pieces of 55x40x25 centimeters.
The reform insists on other rules already known in terms of consumer protection and economic competition. The tied sales are forbidden; that is, to condition the sale of the ticket to the acquisition of additional services (insurance, transport, hotels); it is established that the presentation of the costs must be total (with all the charges that for any concept must be done) and that said exhibition must be done from “the first moment”, which means that it covers advertising (time before the purchase) in a context of “high level of information” (making applicable the “integration of advertising with contracts”).
Finally, in order to guarantee passenger-consumer peace of mind, clauses or provisions (whether in contracts or advertising) that aim to exonerate airlines from their responsibilities towards consumers are considered null and void. the sanctions of the authorities.
So, consumers, these parties will travel with the law in hand. I hope to continue communicating with you in 2018, which will be a great year for you and for Mexico.
By
PhD. Fernando García Sais
Sierra India # 111, Fraccionamiento Lomas de Mazatlán. Mazatlán, Sinaloa. C.P. 82110
Tel: 669 9135762 / 669 9135763 / 669 9130632
E-mail: [email protected]
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