WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. airlines may have to raise the amount of compensation paid to passengers who are bumped from their flights, a federal transportation official said.
Fuller and less-frequent flights have caused a greater amount of bumping, prompting an increased compensation measure proposed by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in Washington, USA Today reported Tuesday.
LaHood has proposed upping the maximum compensation from $800 to $1,300 for passengers involuntarily bumped.
Missing a connecting flight is much more common than being bumped as a result of an airline selling more tickets than the plane has seats, said the Air Transport Association, a trade group that represents the country's largest airlines.
"I did lose a day's worth of consulting revenue. But at least I did manage to get there in one day and didn't lose two days of revenue," said Robert Beilstein, a software consultant from North Syracuse, N.Y., who twice recently missed connecting flights.
Passengers who miss connections due to weather aren't owed anything, but airlines sometimes give meal-hotel room vouchers, the newspaper said.
In addition to providing involuntarily bumped passengers a seat on a later flight, airlines must pay them an amount equal to their ticket price or $400, whichever is lowest. If the passenger is delayed by more than two hours, the compensation ceiling rises to $800, the newspaper reported.
Seven commercial airlines -- Delta, American, United, Continental, US Airways, AirTran and Alaska – said at least 87 percent of their seats in July were filled, causing the need for those who missed a connecting flight to be accommodated on another flight, USA Today said.
