- Статьи
- Society
- Extra passengers: the Ministry of Transport proposed to introduce overbooking on frequent flights
Extra passengers: the Ministry of Transport proposed to introduce overbooking on frequent flights
The Ministry of Transport proposed to introduce overbooking (overbooking of tickets) for flights operated at least twice a day. At the same time, the status of protected categories of passengers is stipulated, which the measure will not apply to.: these are families with many children, tourists with children and people with disabilities. Izvestia found out how overbooking can be implemented on high-frequency flights in the country and how it will turn out for Russians.
What does the appearance of overbooking on flights in Russia mean?
The Ministry of Transport is discussing the introduction of overbooking (overbooking tickets) on flights that operate at least twice a day. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Transport Dmitry Zverev at the XIII St. Petersburg International Legal Forum (SPIEF).
"The basic principles that we prioritize are a high level of passenger service, information at every stage of booking, and mandatory compensation. And most importantly: we are talking about the fact that overbooking is possible only on flights flying at least twice a day. Perhaps the figure will be higher," Zverev said.
As part of the initiative, it is planned to add protected categories of passengers to whom overbooking will not apply. These are passengers with many children, tourists with children and people with disabilities.
Amendments to the Air Code are being discussed with consumer communities, and the Ministry of Transport notes the importance of their detailed study.
The discussion on these amendments has not yet been completed, Zverev stressed, noting that the issue remains on the agenda.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Transport, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
What is overbooking on flights and what is the compensation?
Overbooking refers to the deliberate sale by a carrier of more tickets than there are seats on an airplane. If a person's seat is occupied, the airline must compensate them.This practice is widespread all over the world — it helps to curb the rise in flight prices, as it allows aircraft to load as much as possible. But in Russia, the mechanism has not yet been legalized.
As Ilya Zotov, chairman of the All-Russian Association of Passengers (OOP), noted in an interview with Izvestia, in practice, a person does not always receive compensation.
According to the expert, overbooking can generally be divided into technical and sales. The first is related to the non-departure of the board, for example, due to a malfunction, and the replacement of the vessel with another one with a lower capacity. Eventually, the flight will take place, but some of the passengers will not get on the flight and will fly to others.
— The second type of overbooking occurs when more tickets are sold, taking into account the fact that not all passengers arrive. In practice, this usually happens, but sometimes everyone comes. We don't have open statistics on overbooking, and airlines don't share them, but we know that such situations happen," says Ilya Zotov.
Izvestia sent a request to major carriers, but received no response.
Most often, passengers do not arrive on high-load flights. For this reason, the Ministry of Transport is now proposing to leave overbooking only for such flights — it is important that flights to the destination are carried out at least twice a day and the person has the opportunity to fly away. This will be relevant, for example, in the direction of Moscow – St. Petersburg or Moscow – Sochi.
Is Overbooking legal or not
Today, within the framework of the current legal framework in Russia, there is no law that would explicitly allow or regulate overbooking. This means that the sale of air tickets in excess of the number of seats on the plane is not provided for and is not allowed by current legislation.
As lawyer Sean Betrozov explained, the relationship between a passenger and an airline is governed by three basic laws. The first is the Russian Air Code. It establishes that after the purchase of a ticket, a contract arises between the passenger and the carrier. According to it, the carrier is obliged to deliver the person to the destination and provide a seat on the plane on a specific flight. If a place is not provided, it is considered a violation of the terms.
— The second one is the Civil Code. It says that the contract must be executed properly. If one of the parties does not keep its obligations, it is obliged to refund all losses incurred by the other participant. In the case of overbooking, this means that the passenger can demand not only a refund for the ticket, but also compensation for all expenses incurred due to the disruption of the trip. This may be a hotel reservation, missed meetings, or time spent. In addition, if the boarding was refused without warning and without explanation, the passenger has the right to compensation for moral damage," says the lawyer.
The third is the Consumer Protection Act, which applies because buying an airline ticket is considered a service. And if a person was sold a ticket, but then denied boarding, this is considered a violation.
— The main way to protect passengers is administrative control. For refusing to provide a paid service, the carrier may be fined and given orders to eliminate violations," the lawyer says. — However, the current mechanisms are applied only in situations where a violation has already occurred. They do not establish preliminary rules governing the behavior of carriers before a conflict occurs. The supervisory authorities get involved when a problem has already occurred and cannot pre-regulate the airline's actions.
Thus, the lawyer concludes, the state system reacts to incidents, but does not have a tool for preventing such situations or their systemic resolution. This is exactly what the legalization of overbooking could fix.
New rules for buying tickets
According to Yuri Kapshtyk, a lawyer and expert at the Russian Ministry of Justice, the idea of legalizing overbooking tickets has been around for a long time. For example, Aeroflot proposed to the government to introduce the concept of "overbooking" into the Air Code back in 2021, provided that the maximum amount of compensation would not exceed 30 thousand rubles.
Two years later, in 2023, the company's CEO, Sergey Alexandrovsky, announced that he was working with the Ministry of Transport on the relevant regulations. "The overbooking law will allow all airlines to get out of the gray zone. Everyone understands that overbooking happens on flights in one form or another. For example, this happens when an aircraft is forced to be replaced (...). At the same time, passengers' rights remain unprotected," Alexandrovsky said, explaining that he saw the special expediency of the innovation for the Pobeda low—cost airline (part of the Aeroflot group).
The Ministry of Transport announced plans to legalize the relevant regulations at the end of April. At a meeting of the Public Council under the Ministry, its representatives reported on the development of draft amendments to the Air Code of the Russian Federation, which contains the legal concept of overbooking and details of its application. According to Ilya Zotov, several versions of the document have been prepared over the past six months, and work on it continues.
— It is especially important to resolve the issue of compensation. People are left alone with the problem, trying to solve it through the courts, some successfully, some not. For now, compensation for flight delays can be applied, but it is only 100 rubles per hour. This, of course, does not suit everyone," says Zotov.
Other important innovations, according to the expert, may be protected categories of passengers and warning everyone else about overbooking. Citizens are offered to be notified of a possible situation so that they can decide whether to fly on this flight or immediately pick up another one — if, for example, they have an important meeting or meeting expected.
— It is important that overbooking is voluntary. That is, so that a person receives information and can either leave his flight or refuse — then the flight remains with him, but it will be delayed in time, and the passenger will receive compensation. Relatively speaking, he will fly not at 13 o'clock, but at 15, but he will be paid 10 thousand rubles. rubles right on the spot, at the airport," the Izvestia source explains.
At the same time, there is a risk that warnings to passengers about overbooking will provoke the activity of fraudsters, and criminals disguised as airlines will start sending mailings to passengers. This issue is also important to work out, the expert is sure.
— The issue of legalizing overbooking is complicated, and lawmakers need to take all factors into account. But such a measure is necessary to stop abuse by air carriers and ticket agencies, as well as to protect the rights of passengers," concludes Yuri Kapshtyk.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
