(NEXSTAR) – 下次您的航班被取消或延误时，一旦新的联邦规则生效，获得赔偿可能不再那么容易。上个月，交通部宣布，10种航班中断情况将不再归因于航空公司。相反，下面列出的这10种中断情况将被纳入新的“第511(b)条类别”进行追踪。交通部发言人此前曾向Nexstar表示，这一重新分类是为响应拜登总统两年多前签署成为法律的《2024年联邦航空管理局授权法案》。
(NEXSTAR) – The next time your flight is canceled or delayed, it may not be as easy to get compensation once a new federal rule takes effect. Last month, the Transportation Department announced that 10 types of flight disruptions would no longer be attributed to the air carrier. Instead, the 10 disruptions, listed below, will be tracked in the new “Section 511(b) category." A Transportation Department spokesperson previously told Nexstar the recategorization is in response to the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which President Biden signed into law over two years ago.
该举措将于周一，10月19日正式生效，旨在“确保政府延误数据准确反映航空公司能够和无法控制的情况”。交通部在联邦备案文件中解释称，航空公司预计将通过“[减少]目前因某些延误和取消原因被归因于航空公司而产生的负面声誉影响和损害——而该规则制定明确指出这些原因不在其控制范围内”来节省成本。航空律师事务所克劳威尔&莫林LLP称其为“航空业迈出的重要一步”，指出航空公司一直认为目前的报告结构“将某些不在其运营控制范围内的中断错误归因于航空公司”。
The move, which formally takes effect on Monday, Oct. 19, is meant to "ensure government delay data accurately reflects what airlines can and cannot control." Airline carriers are expected to save costs by “[reducing] the negative reputational impacts and harm that air carriers currently experience because the attribution of certain delay and cancellation causes to air carriers that this rulemaking addresses as not within their control," the DOT explained in a federal filing. Aviation law firm Crowell & Moring LLP called it “a significant step forward for the airline industry,” noting that carriers had argued that the current reporting structure “misattributes certain disruptions to carriers that are not within their operational control.”
然而，这可能对客户造成“相当大的潜在打击”。《积分指南》的编辑总监克林特·亨德森上个月对Nexstar表示。交通部承认，重新分类延误和取消情况预计将减少“航空公司目前向消费者提供的便利设施和补偿的总价值”。“作为消费者倡导者，我尤其愤怒的是：如果飞机出现机械故障或维修问题，这将不再被视为航空公司应向您提供赔偿的理由，”亨德森说。
It could, however, be "quite a big blow potentially for customers,” Clint Henderson, the managing editor for The Points Guy, told Nexstar last month. The Transportation Department acknowledged that reclassifying the delays and cancellations is expected to reduce “the total value of amenities and compensation currently provided by air carriers to consumers.”“The one that is especially outrageous to me as a consumer advocate is that if a plane goes mechanical or has maintenance issues, that is no longer considered a reason the airline would give you compensation,” Henderson said.
这可能意味着，如果您的航班因某些问题被取消，“航空公司不一定会提供食物或酒店代金券。”亨德森表示，为应对航班中断，应“提前制定备用计划，以防事情出现意外”，并在询问延误和取消情况时保持主动，以争取赔偿。这可能包括要求提供酒店住宿、拼车费用、餐饮和饮料的报销。如果航空公司拒绝提供现金赔偿，他建议要求获得里程。
That may mean that, if your flight is canceled for an issue, “the airline wouldn’t necessarily give you food or hotel vouchers.”Henderson said to be prepared for flight disruptions, "have a backup plan in case things go sideways," and be aggressive when inquiring about delays and cancellations in order to pursue compensation. That may include asking for a hotel and reimbursement for ride shares, food, and beverages. If an airline declines to offer cash compensation, he suggested asking for miles.