CHARTER OF THE TOURIST RIGHTS:

THE TOURIST RIGHTS OF THE FLIGHT PASSENGERS:

While not altering the rights of package tour passengers, as specified by EC Directive 90/314/EEC (integrated into Italian legislation with D.Lgs. 111/95 and now replaced by articles 82 to 100 of the Consumers’ Code), the regulation of the Charter of the tourist rights is applicable to passengers of flights operated by EU carriers where at least one of the departure or arrival airports is situated on the territory of an EU member state.
In order to exercise the rights defined by the regulation, the passenger must: be in possession of a confirmed booking or must have been transferred from another flight for which he or she had a confirmed booking; be present at the check in at the time and in accordance with the terms indicated in writing or, in the absence of written instructions, at least 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time. The latter condition is not applicable in the event of a cancelled flight. Lastly, the regulation is not applicable to passengers travelling free of charge or at a reduced tariff not available to the public. It is, however, applicable to passengers in possession of tickets issued as part of a “frequent flyer” programme or any other commercial strategy implemented by air carriers or tour operators.

Overbooking and denied embarking:
Overbooking is common practice among international airlines: as statistically, a certain percentage of bookings for each flight will always be cancelled by customers, the number of seats put on sale by airlines is actually greater than the available seats on the flight by a factor proportional to the statistically determined percentage of cancellations.
This allows the airline to spread the cost of the flight over the largest possible number of passengers without having to increase the price of the individual ticket to compensate for vacant seats. As it is based on statistics, however, the system is not always perfect. In some cases, the number of cancellations may be less than anticipated and one or more passenger may be denied embarkation due to overbooking.
As objectionable as this practice may seem, it is in fact justified by the need to keep down individual ticket prices, and is expressly legitimised and regulated by article 4 of EU Regulation 2004/261/EC.

Bookings and tariffs:
Flights come under two categories: scheduled flights, operated according to airline timetables, and charter flights, which are hired specifically for the occasion by tour operators.
Flying charter does not entail any particular safety problems but does expose you to a greater risk of delays and may be more problematical in the event of cancellation, reimbursements, etc. Additionally, it is very difficult to arrange and maintain connecting flights, which are generally guaranteed when flying scheduled flights with a single airline.
While charters are usually single class flights, scheduled (but not short haul) flights offer at least two classes: first class, economy class and, in some cases an intermediate business class, although the names may vary from airline to airline. The classification refers to the type of seats and on-board treatment. Booking classes are, however, linked to different tariff levels and may be very numerous, depending on the commercial policies of the individual airline, which in turn are determined by factors such as competition. Particularly advantageous tariffs are often bound by specific conditions which we should be aware of when making a booking. For instance, the number of seats subject to a reduced tariff is almost always limited, they are only available if you fly with the same company for both your outbound and return journeys and in some cases, you may not change the return flight or date once you have departed. In some cases, the ticket must be issued (and therefore paid for) within 24 or 48 hours of booking. There may be limitations or a norefunds policy applicable in the event of cancellation.
Additional services offered in-flight (newspapers, beverages, meals, etc.) are included in the price of the ticket with the exception of wines and spirits, which are generally offered free of charge on intercontinental flights.

EU regulation No. 2004/261/EC, dated 11/2/2004 (in the EU Official Gazette dated 17/2/2004, in effect since 17/2/2005)

This is a European Union regulation (and therefore directly applicable in the domestic legislature of member states without the need for laws for its integration), which regulates denied embarkation, flight cancellations and delays in departure in air travel.

Air Travel:
embarkation on an alternative flight towards the final destination at a later date selected by the passenger, subject to seat availability. Additionally, in accordance with article 9, the passenger is also entitled to the following, free of charge:

• meals and beverages in proportion to the length of the wait;
• hotel accommodation should the passenger have to wait one or more nights for the flight or should the passenger have to extend his or her stay;
• transport between the airport and the hotel.
• two telephone calls, fax messages or emails.

Cancelled flights:
In the event of a cancelled flight, the passenger may choose from the following options (article 8):

• reimbursement within 7 days of the full price of the ticket plus a return flight to the original point of departure as soon as possible;
• embarkation on an alternative flight to the final destination as soon as possible;
• embarkation on an alternative flight towards the final destination at a later date selected by the passenger, subject to seat availability.
additionally, the passenger is also entitled to the following, free of charge:
• meals and beverages in proportion to the length of the wait;
• two telephone calls, fax messages or emails.
If the new flight is more than a full day later, the carrier must also provide the passenger with the following services, free of charge:
• hotel accommodation
• transport between the airport and the hotel.

Lastly, article 7 of the regulation requires that the carrier also pays the passenger “pecuniary compensation” (in other terms an indemnity), as follows:

• flights up to 1500 Km => euro 250
• flights within the EU over 1500 Km => euro 400
other flights from 1500 to 3500 Km => euro 400
• Voluntary relinquishment of a booking.

In accordance with the above regulation, in the event of overbooking, the airline must avoid arbitrarily choosing the passengers to be excluded from the flight. It must therefore first ask if any passengers are willing to voluntarily relinquish their booking in exchange for a number of “benefits” offered the airline itself. Over and above these “benefits”, which are offered as a form of compensation, any passenger voluntarily relinquishing his or her booking is also entitled to choose from one of the following options (art. 8): reimbursement within 7 days of the full price of the ticket plus a return flight to the original point of departure as soon as possible; embarkation on an alternative flight to the final destination as soon as possible; embarkation on an alternative flight towards the final destination at a later date selected by the passenger, subject to seat availability.

Denied embarkation to non-consenting passengers:
If, in spite of the above, the problem has not been resolved, the airline may deny embarkation to non-consenting passengers.
In this eventuality, an indemnity (“pecuniary compensation”) must be immediately paid to the passenger as follows, in accordance with article 7:

• flights up to 1500 Km => euro 250


• flights within the EU over 1500 Km => euro 400 other flights from 1500 to 3500 Km => euro 400


• flights not covered by (a) and (b) => euro 600

If the delayed flight is part of a package tour, the rights of the passenger in relation to the airline remain unaltered, but in the event of non-fulfilment or inconvenience, all complaints, claims for reimbursement or compensation for damages must be made to the tour operator, which remains the liable party in the event of non-fulfilment by its suppliers, including air carriers (see Package Tours: articles 82 to 100 of the Consumers’ Code).

Baggage:
Up to 20 Kg per person (30 Kg for first class) of baggage may be transported at no supplementary cost, but this must be checked in before embarking.
Small hand baggage (bags, briefcases, etc.) may be carried by the passenger into the cabin. The demands of check-in and security procedures impose a time limit for the passenger to present him or herself at the airport, after which, there is a risk of missing the flight. This limit varies from airport to airport, but is generally no shorter than 40 minutes for domestic flights and may be as long as 120 minutes for intercontinental flights. The fact that you have to hand your luggage in (always check that the destination on the check-in label is correct!) can in some cases lead to disagreeable inconveniences when the time comes to pick it up again at your destination. Never pack money, documents or valuables in your checked luggage.

Lost baggage:
In the event of lost luggage, there is a distinction between domestic and international flights and between checked baggage and hand baggage. In domestic flights, in the event of lost checked baggage, the passenger is entitled to compensation of up to euro 6.20 per Kg, up to a maximumeuro 222.08. For hand baggage, passengers are entitled to compensation of up to euro 1007.09 per person.

• flights not covered by (a) and (b) => euro 600

However, pecuniary compensation is not applicable in the following cases:

• If the cancellation is due to exceptional and inevitable circumstances, in spite of all the appropriate measures being taken, or:
• If the passenger was notified of the cancellation:
• at least 2 weeks in advance;
• at least 7 days beforehand, offering an alternative flight departing no earlier than 2 hours before the original flight and arriving no more than 4 hours later;
• less than 7 days beforehand, offering an alternative flight departing no earlier than 1 hours before the original flight and arriving no more than 2 hours later; The carrier is responsible for demonstrating that the causes for the cancellation were inevitable and for notifying the passenger.

Delays in departure:
In the event of delays in the scheduled departure time, the air carrier is obliged to provide passengers, free of charge, with the following:

• meals and beverages in proportion to the length of the wait;
• two telephone calls, fax messages or emails.

Passengers are entitled to the aforementioned services when the delay exceeds:

• two hours (for flights up to 1500 Km);
• three hours (for flights within the EU over 1500 Km and for all other flights between 1500 and 3500 Km);
• four hours (for all flights not covered by points a) and b))

Should the delay exceed five hours, passengers are entitled to choose from the following options:

• reimbursement within 7 days of the full price of the ticket plus a return flight to the original point of departure as soon as possible;
• embarkation on an alternative flight to the final destination as soon as possible;
• embarkation on an alternative flight towards the final destination at a later date selected by the passenger, subject to seat availability.

This is the agreement with which the owner of an accommodation facility commits to providing the customer, in exchange for the corresponding price, a service of accommodation in a furnished residential unit, as well as any accessory services, some necessary and others ad hoc. In Italy, a hotel contract is not regulated by law, which only regulates the hotel owner’s responsibilities regarding the deposit of items that have been brought or handed over to the hotel (articles 1783 to 1785 of the Italian Civil Code). For all other matters, general regulations on obligations and contracts apply. The principles and rules of the hotel contract apply to all accommodation facilities, irrespective of the terms used for the different types of facility (hotel, resort, motel, camp site, mountain chalet, apartment, bed & breakfast, beauty farm, etc.).

Booking and concluding the contract:
A booking is an agreement in which the hotel owner commits to making accommodation and all connected services available to the customer. Depending on whether or not it includes a deposit of a sum of money, a booking has different contents and consequences. a) “simple” booking At times, in order to reserve a room in a hotel, it is sufficient to call ahead, agree on services and price and provide a name (and sometimes also a telephone number). This kind of booking, entirely verbal, and which does not allow the hotel owner to trace us, creates obligations only for the hotel owner, who is obligated to conclude the definitive contract. The traveller, on the other hand, is free to make use of the booking or not. Of course, it is a duty of appropriateness to notify in the event of cancellation. Also, as a document of the agreement, it is advisable to confirm the content In international flights, passengers whose checked baggage is lost are entitled to compensation of 17 DPS (approximately euro 24.00) per Kg, whereas in the event of lost hand baggage, passengers are entitled to compensation up to 332 DPS (approximately euro 461.00) per person. In the event of lost hand baggage on both domestic and international flights, the passenger is only entitled to compensation if he or she can prove the airline’s responsibility. Where checked luggage contains items of greater value than the maximum compensation envisaged, the passenger may fill out a “declaration of greater value” when checking in, which entails paying a price supplement. Doing this, however, the passenger will be reimbursed for the value declared should the baggage be lost.

Damages to passengers:
Airlines belonging to EU member states are liable for unlimited damages claims. For claims under euro 138,800.00 the airline may not contest the claim. For larger claims, the airline may only contest the claim if it can demonstrate that it is not responsible for the damages. The airline must also pay an initial payment of not less than euro 28,820.00 within 15 days. With airlines not belonging to an EU member state operating to or from the EU, the European regulation may not apply, but the airline must inform the passenger in advance of this fact, providing details of the claims policy implemented by the company. In this case, the liability of the airline is limited to a maximum compensation of euro 138,800.00 per passenger. If the passenger suffers damages in transit from the boarding lounge to the aircraft, the ground services operator is responsible and not the airline.

 

 

   

   

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