Source: The Straits Times, Singapore 6 July 2004

China airlines to compensate for delays

Notorious for behind-schedule flights, many are launching new policies covering most causes except bad weather

By Jason Leow

BEIJING - Minutes after getting off the cellphone with her relative, Madam Yang Bin discovered that Air China CA 1102 was not going to take off as scheduled at 9.45pm. Scowling, she marched up to the airport attendant.

Like all other flights on Sunday night, hers had been delayed - some had been cancelled - due to a storm. In the south, Typhoon Mindulle was also stalling flights into Beijing's Capital Airport.

'I want compensation. How do you expect my relative to fetch me from the airport after midnight?' Madam Yang, who was heading towards Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, one hour by air from Beijing, screamed. It was 9.20pm.

The next day, news emerged that one Chinese airline had become the first to compensate travellers for flight delays, and the news immediately drew praise and criticism from the public.

Shenzhen Airlines yesterday set a precedent for other Chinese airlines - and even international ones, which compensate travellers on a case-by-case basis - when it agreed to refund passengers up to the full cost of their tickets if their plane is delayed for eight hours or more.

If they wait between four and eight hours for their plane to take off, the airline will reimburse them up to 30 per cent of the face value of their tickets.

There is a caveat: Delays caused by weather are not covered.

Chinese airlines are notorious for flight delays. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC), two in five domestic flights do not take off on time.

China Central Television reported last month that China Eastern posted the worst record in May for flight delays, with a quarter of its flights failing to meet take-off times. CCTV said the on-time flight records of all airlines in May worsened over the same period last year.

Shenzhen Airlines, which has also decided to compensate travellers for 'late luggage', saw its on-time record in May hit 80.75 per cent, a spokesman told The Straits Times yesterday.

The airline will compensate travellers for delays caused by technical faults, poor flight planning, delivery and staff error, the Beijing News reported yesterday. But the weather is beyond its control.

Mr Xu Hui, who manages a Beijing-based non-profit organisation, praised Shenzhen Airlines, which has assets of 3 billion yuan (S$627 million), for leading the way in customer care.

'The rules enhance transparency. They will force the airline to explain to travellers why flights are being delayed. In the past, travellers would have no information on why their planes could not take off on time,' he said.

But many netizens on Chinese news portal sina.com called for delays caused by the weather, which are common and just as troublesome, to be covered by the rules.

On Sunday, at least 100 flights in Beijing were delayed, and another 10 planes were rerouted to Tianjin, the CAAC (North China) told the Jinghua Times.

China Southern, which has assets of 50.1 billion yuan, told The Straits Times yesterday it was still studying the CAAC's recommendations.

But Air China, which has assets of 51.5 billion yuan, said it expected to finalise its own compensation rulings 'soon', but declined to be specific.

Publicity director Wang Yongsheng added: 'Situations like Sunday's won't be covered. That's not our business. That's heaven's fault.'