Ninety-five Percent of Brazilian Air Passengers Unaware of Their Rights

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With the New Year approaching, many Brazilians need to travel to make the most of their holidays and rest days, but delays and cancellations of packed flights and airports can turn a good trip into a stressful experience.

As shown in a study commissioned by AirHelp from YouGov, a British market research company, only five percent of Brazilian airline passengers are aware of their rights.

So it is important that potential travelers know how to protect themselves legally in case of troubles caused by airlines, as air passenger rights protect the consumer from unforeseen events.

“Air passengers around the world are constantly being disrespected by airlines and most travelers don’t even know what they can do and be compensated,” explains Christian Nielsen, legal director of AirHelp, a company that specializes in providing legal services to passengers who have been damaged by airlines.

“Every year passengers lose money because airlines are dishonest about their rights,” he adds.

Laws and rights exist but are not respected

Nielsen clarifies that there are several laws protecting consumers from delays, cancellations, and overbooking and that these must be enforced against airlines.

“Passengers affected may seek justice in ANAC [National Civil Aviation Agency] Resolution No. 400 and request financial compensation for flight disruptions for the airline responsible. Brazilians have the least understanding of their rights, despite having one of the most pro-customer and passenger legislation in the world,” he says.

ANAC’s Resolution No. 400 guarantees several rights for passengers, specifying exactly what types of assistance airlines are required to provide and when.

Also according to the AirHelp study, Brazilian laws clearly establish the responsibilities of airlines with their passengers whenever there are flight issues.

These laws allow affected passengers to claim compensation for unscheduled costs, such as food, beverages, transportation, and lodging after a flight problem – these are referenced by the expert as “material damages”.

Compensation can be claimed for airline mistakes. If the flight is delayed or canceled and there is no relocation to another flight on the same route, passengers may receive compensation of up to R$5,000 (US$1.250).

In case passengers are denied boarding for reasons beyond their control, the compensation is R$2,600.

But according to the Consumer Code, passengers also have the right to seek compensation for what is known as “moral damages” such as mental anguish or suffering. This covers time spent unnecessarily, missed opportunities and improper treatment. The compensation in this case can reach R$ 5,000.

“The amount of compensation does not depend on the flight distance or the price of the ticket, but on the circumstantial situation, and the moral and material harm that the passenger suffered,” explains Nielsen.

Flight issues can end up costing more than the compensation amounts, since last-minute cancellations can ruin a whole month’s planning, causing the passenger to miss hotel nights or wait for an alternative flight for hours.

Unawareness, excessive bureaucracy and omission of airlines

As a study by AirHelp shows, 50 percent of Brazilian passengers interviewed admitted that after submitting the claim to the responsible airline, they received a substitute for the financial compensation (food stamp or ticket discount, for instance), rather than the money to which they were legally entitled.

And passengers who actually go after their rights are quite rare. According to Nielsen, four out of five passengers drop out of the compensation claim procedure because of a first rejection or because they do not want to deal with all the red tape involved.

The expert says there are three main factors why passengers stop claiming compensation: they are unaware of the service channels and their rights, in particular, they think the case will take too long and they think such a claim will not work effectively.

According to the expert, it is crucial that consumers seek expert help to claim their rights from corporations.

“Air passengers underestimate their power as dissatisfied consumers because the legislation protects passengers on domestic and international flights,” explains Nielsen.

Source: Infomoney