March 2018 – poor quality English language courses

Travel by other transport

Denied boarding

When an operating air carrier reasonably expects to deny boarding on a flight, it shall first call for volunteers to surrender their reservations in exchange for benefits under conditions to be agreed between the passenger concerned and the operating air carrier. Right to compensation In 2009 November 19th Court of Justice of the European Union in cases C-402/07 ir C-432/07 ruled, that air carriers are obliged to compensate their customers in the event of significant delay in flights (3 or more hours later). According to EU regulations standard compensations can be paid: 250* euro for all flights not exceeding 1 500 kilometers; 400* euro for all flights within the EU longer than 1 500 kilometers and for all other flights between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometers; 600* euro for all other flights, covered by EU regulations. * The amount of compensation payable may be reduced by 50% if the rerouting offered allows you to arrive at your final destination close to the original scheduled arrival time (within two to four hours depending on the distance of the flight). The approximate distance between the airports you can check by visiting this site: http://www.airportcitycodes.com/calcform.aspx Right to care Regardless of the cause of the denied boarding, you always have the right to receive service and assistance if your flight is denied. The airline have to let you use the phone to call someone or to send a text message, or e-mail, if you wish to do so. They should also offer you food and drinks. Should it be necessary to stay overnight, the airline is required to pay for accommodation and the transport between the airport and the hotel. You do have to limit your costs, however. Right to reimbursement or re-routing Reimbursement within seven days, of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant, a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity; Re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; Re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.

Flight Delay

If your flight is delayed beyond certain timeframes, you have the right to be provided with the information about your entitlements and a minimum level of care immediately while waiting for the beginning or the continuation of the delayed journey: In the event of delays of two or more hours (depending on the distance of the flight) passengers must be offered free  meals and refreshments, two free telephone calls, emails or faxes; Where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary, passengers must also be offered hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and the place of accommodation; If the flight is delayed by at least five hours, passengers may opt for reimbursement of the full cost of the ticket. Once the refund is accepted no further care from the air carrier may follow. However, if passengers have already initiated their journey and the purpose of their original travel plan is no longer attainable (e.g. connecting flight missed as a result of the delay of a flight in your itinerary) they have a right to a return flight to the original point of departure at no extra cost. In such a case, the air carrier may not decline the passenger’s right to care. If your air carrier is unable to provide the above provisions free of charge, they should reimburse passengers for expenses incurred. It is therefore important that you retain all the relevant receipts. Right to compensation In 2009 November 19th Court of Justice of the European Union in cases C-402/07 ir C-432/07 ruled, that air carriers are obliged to compensate their customers in the event of significant delay in flights (3 or more hours later). According to EU regulations standard compensations can be paid: 250* euro for all flights not exceeding 1 500 kilometers; 400* euro for all flights within the EU longer than 1 500 kilometers and for all other flights between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometers; 600* euro for all other flights, covered by EU regulations. * The amount of compensation payable may be reduced by 50% if the rerouting offered allows you to arrive at your final destination close to the original scheduled arrival time (within two to four hours depending on the distance of the flight). The approximate distance between the airports you can check by visiting this site: http://www.airportcitycodes.com/calcform.aspx Exceptions from the right to standard compensation An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. You are not entitled to compensation if you have received information about the change more than 2 weeks before scheduled departure, you have received information about the change 2 weeks - 7 days before scheduled departure, and the new travel time is set to a maximum of 2 hours before the original departure. The new arrival time has to be 4 hours after the original arrival time at the latest, you have received information about the change less than 7

Flight Cancellation

Right to reimbursement or re-routing Reimbursement within seven days, of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant, a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity; Re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; Re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats. Right to care Regardless of the cause of the cancelled flight, you always have the right to receive service and assistance if your flight is cancelled. The airline have to let you use the phone to call someone or to send a text message, or e-mail, if you wish to do so. They should also offer you food and drinks. Should it be necessary to stay overnight, the airline is required to pay for accommodation and the transport between the airport and the hotel. You do have to limit your costs, however. Right to compensation According to EU regulations standard compensations can be paid: 250* euro for all flights not exceeding 1 500 kilometers; 400* euro for all flights within the EU longer than 1 500 kilometers and for all other flights between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometers; 600* euro for all other flights, covered by EU regulations. * The amount of compensation payable may be reduced by 50% if the rerouting offered allows you to arrive at your final destination close to the original scheduled arrival time (within two to four hours depending on the distance of the flight). The approximate distance between the airports you can check by visiting this site: http://www.airportcitycodes.com/calcform.aspx Exceptions from the right to standard compensation An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. You are not entitled to compensation if you have received information about the change more than 2 weeks before scheduled departure, you have received information about the change 2 weeks - 7 days before scheduled departure, and the new travel time is set to a maximum of 2 hours before the original departure. The new arrival time has to be 4 hours after the original arrival time at the latest, you have received information about the change less than 7 days before scheduled departure, and the new travel time is one hour before the original arrival time at the most, you have been informed that the flight is cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances.

Travel by plane

Is your flight delayed, cancelled, or overbooked? Has your baggage been damaged, did it get lost, or did it go missing? In the EU, there are many rules protecting air passengers in any of these cases. These rules have been laid down in the European Regulation 261/2004 and the Montreal Convention. To find out everything you need to know about your air passenger rights when travelling by plane in Europe, click on the relevant link(s). Quick tips: Ask the airline to tell you about your rights. If you believe that your rights were violated: contact the airline's responsible employee or authorised representative, stating what rights you believe the airline has failed to protect and demand that you receive the services you are entitled to; If this cannot be resolved on the spot, save all the evidence (cheques, tickets, etc.) and submit a written claim to the airline (most airlines have standard claim forms); Get a response from the airline; If you do not receive a reply within a reasonable time (maximum 2 months), or if you are not satisfied with the reply you receive, you can contact the European Consumer Centre for help.

Telecommunications

Roam like at home The EU "roam like at home" rules mean that when you use your mobile phone while travelling outside your home country in any EU country you don't have to pay any additional roaming charges. You benefit from these rules when calling (to mobile and fixed phones), sending text messages (SMS) and using data services while abroad. These rules also apply when receiving calls or texts while roaming even if the person you are calling is using a different service provider. You pay exactly the same price for using these services when travelling in the EU as you would if you were at home. In practice, your operator simply charges or takes your roaming consumption from the volumes in your domestic mobile tariff plan / bundle. If you had a contract with a mobile operator which includes roaming services it automatically became "a roam like at home" contract. The default option for all new mobile contracts with roaming services is "roam like at home". Conditions "Roam like at home" is intended for people who occasionally travel outside the country where they live or have stable links i.e. they work or study there. It's not meant to be used for permanent roaming. As long as you spend more time at home than abroad, or you use your mobile phone more at home than abroad, you can roam freely at domestic prices when travelling anywhere in the EU. This is considered a "fair use of roaming services". If you use your mobile phone abroad permanently, your mobile operator may charge you for your roaming use. These charges are capped however (see fair use policy below). When you cross a border within the EU, you will receive a text message from your mobile operator informing you that you are roaming and reminding you of its fair use policy. Fair use policy Mobile operators may apply what is known as a "fair use policy" to ensure that all roaming customers have access to and benefit from the "roam like at home" rules (i.e. regulated roaming services at domestic price) when travelling in the EU.  Mobile operators may apply fair, reasonable and proportionate control mechanisms to avoid abusive use of these rules. Fair use policy and data limits When you roam like at home there are no volume restrictions for voice calls and SMS, but there are rules and limits for data usage at domestic price which are determined by the type of contract you have. In some specific cases (see below), beyond a reasonably high volume of roaming data at domestic price, you may have to pay a data roaming surcharge which will be equal to the wholesale (EU-wide) data cap (€7.70 / GB of data in 2017 plus VAT). This wholesale roaming price is the maximum your domestic operator has to pay a foreign operator when you use data roaming services. Data limits - pre-paid cards If you have a pre-paid card (meaning that you pay in advance for using