FAA Rule 240?

[39august]

Is Rule 240 still in effect since 9/11? This was an old regulation that said if your flight is cancelled or delayed due to the carrier's fault, (not weather or labor dispute) that they are responsible to get you on a plane to your destination within 2 hours of the originally scheduled flight, regardless of airline or class of ticket. The only time this has happened to us, we didn't ask about rule 240 as American got us on another flight an hour and a half after our scheduled departure.

[DanJ]

This is from the FAA site

 

Where can I find information on Rule 240?

The term "Rule 240" refers to a rule that existed before airline deregulation. There is no longer an actual Rule 240. The term, as it is now used, refers to each airline´s "conditions of carriage" policy. You would need to contact the airlines to obtain this.

[bUU]

Each airline indeed has their own rules for handling schedule irregularities. Only the six major airlines (UA, DL, AA, NW, CO, US) and their regional feeders have an interline agreement (whereby they'll readily accommodate their own displaced passengers on flights operated by other airlines.

[cruisingmimi]

Hi,

 

My cruise invoice from our TA has the following printed on the back of the invoice:

 

"If your flight is cancelled, request that the airline re-accommodate you on another flight or carrier to get you to your destination at or about the same time. If the airline you are booked on cannot get you to your destination in time to make the cruise request that they Rule 240 you on another carrier who can get you there on time. Rule 240 allows carriers to protect stranded passengers on another carrier at no additional cost to the passenger."

 

They suggest that you reconfirm flights the evening b4 departure directly with the airline whether you booked through the cruise line or on your own.

[DanJ]

I'll take what the FAA says over what a TA prints on an invoice. What the FAA seems to be saying is that "Rule 240" is being used more as a generic term about a common policy many airlines have agreed to regarding carrying passengers from other lines in certain situations where the originating carrier can't. But, it's not written in law anymore, and it is getting harder to get on a different carrier like this anymore anyway.

[cruisingmimi]

I am going to ask my TA just out of curiosity. People were concerned about booking US Air flights a few months ago and an article in the newspaper said that if anything happened to US Air, other carriers would have to transport them. Easier said than done, I am sure.

[bUU]

Many airlines do have a "Rule 240" -- after deregulation did away with the FAA regulation, many airlines added the protection to their Contracts of Carriage as a matter of customer service to their customers, and to reduce confusion, deliberately called it "Rule 240." However, many airlines did not adopt (and have not adopted) any such rule, and some airlines did so but called it something else, so that travel agent is risking the dissatisfaction of some of its customers by providing that advice in all cases.