Originally Posted by cedric
Actually, I think the EU approach is horrible. With the kind of "compensation" that is being required, airlines will surely have to raise fares - and I believe the regulations apply regardless of whether the event was under the carrier's control or not. This will especially impact the low-cost carriers, which almost certainly will have to raise fares considerably, and since they are the price setters, the competition will follow. In this case I have to say - let the market decide.
That's great theory but in large parts of this country including most of the route network of AC Jazz there is no market, there is a monopoly. And AC Jazz acts like a monopoly. It doesn't care about Jazz passengers and their connections nearly as much as those passengers originating from points where AC does face competition.
There is very much a role for clear rules protecting consumers in those areas. Not interventionist government heavy handedness, just simple direct penalties payable to the consumer for gross non-performance. Just the implementation of such an approach, like the EU, would force them to clean up their act at least a bit.