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New Air Travel Rules. The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has implemented new air travel regulations that will affect Travel Agents, Air Carriers and Tour operators effective January 24 and January 26, 2012. What’s the effect?.
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New Air Travel Rules. The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has implemented new air travel regulations that will affect Travel Agents, Air Carriers and Tour operators effective January 24 and January 26, 2012.
What’s the effect? • The new regulations in effect will help ensure that consumers are treated fairly when they travel by air. • Travelers shopping for air travel will no longer have to click through multiple web pages to find out what their airfare will truly cost. • Rules also prohibit any provider of travel (airline, tour operator or travel agent) from increasing pricing unless approved by traveler in writing.
The Rules • DOT rules require any advertising that includes a price for air transportation to state the full price to be paid by the consumer, including all carrier-imposed surcharges. • The only exception currently allowed is government-imposed taxes and fees. These fees must be disclosed in the advertisement through a prominent link next to the fare stating that these fees will be extra.
Continued • This rule applies to purchased airline tickets, air and land packages and air and cruise packages for travel to, from and within the United States. • Airlines and ticket agents must also disclose all baggage fees to consumers.
For your Customers • Consumers will be able to hold a reservation without payment or cancel a booking without penalty within 24 hours of booking the reservation. As long as the reservation is made at least one week or more of the flight departure date. • Agents, airlines and tour operators are prohibited from adding products automatically to the purchase. I.e. Insurance.
More for your Customer • Your client must opt in to purchase additional products. • Once a consumer purchases a ticket, the airline can not increase the price of fees for baggage or fuel surcharges even if these items are purchased or increased at a later date. • The fees and baggage allowances will apply for the consumers entire trip.
Traveler Notification • Airlines will also be required to notify passengers of flight delays over 30 minutes, as well as flight cancellations and diversions.
Important to you as the Agent • Agents also can no longer add optional products in the prices presented to consumers. • Insurance and upgrades can only be added in the price if the consumer asks for these additional products.
DOT • These new requirements are the final provisions from the DOT’s most recent airline consumer rule that went into effect in August of 2011 and fully implemented January 26, 2012. • This also includes the requirement that airlines refund baggage fees if a clients baggage is lost.
Airlines • Also implemented in August, airlines must provide increased compensation to passengers bumped from flights that are oversold. • The DOT has set a 4 hour limit on tarmac delays for international flights and 3 hour limit for domestic flights.
A Quick Recap • DOT has implemented new air travel regulations that will affect. • New regulations in effect will help ensure that consumers are treated fairly when they travel by air. • Travelers will no longer have to click through multiple web pages to find out what their airfare will truly cost.
Recap • DOT rules require any advertising that includes a price for air transportation to state the full price to be paid by the consumer, including all carrier-imposed surcharges. • The only exception currently allowed is government-imposed taxes and fees. These fees must be disclosed in the advertisement through a prominent link next to the fare stating that these fees will be extra.
