Written question asked by Lord Luce (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour) on Wednesday, 6 February 2008.

Aviation: Passengers Denied Boarding

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether European Commission Regulation 261/2004 applies to downgraded passengers as well as those denied boarding on British airlines; and, if so, (a) how many passengers were downgraded on British airlines during the last year; and (b) what are the compensation rights of downgraded passengers.

Answer: Regulation (EC) 261/2004 does also apply to downgraded passengers on British airlines. However, the Government do not receive information on how many passengers have been downgraded over the year. The Air Transport Users Council have statistics for the number of complaints made about denied boarding, but there is no separate category for downgrading. The compensation rights are quoted in Article 10 (2) of the Regulation: the air carrier shall reimburse the passenger, within seven days, with a percentage of the price of the ticket, according to the distance travelled. This being: (a) 30 percent of the price of the ticket for all flights of 1500 kilometres or less; (b) 50 percent of the price for all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 kilometres and for all other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres; (c) 75 percent of the price for all flights not falling under (a) or (b).

Secondary information