DOT 31-17

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Contact: Office of Public Affairs

pressoffice@dot.gov

Updated USDOT: Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Aviation Enforcement

Office)

In response to United Express Flight 3411

April 11, 2017

Updated Statement: The Department of Transportations Office of Aviation Enforcement and

Proceedings began its initial review of United Airlines Express Flight 3411 on April 10. The
Department remains committed to ensuring that airlines comply with consumer protection
regulations and will not speculate during the review process on this matter.

Background

DOTs Review of United Express Flight 3411

The Departments Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Aviation

Enforcement Office) is reviewing the April 9th involuntarily denied boarding of passenger(s)
on United Express flight 3411 operated by Republic Airlines to determine whether the
airlines complied with the Departments oversales rule.

The Aviation Enforcement Office contacted United Airlines regarding this matter as soon
as it became aware of it on April 10. A review is currently underway.

A review by the Aviation Enforcement Office into potential violations of aviation

consumer protection and civil rights laws may include, but is not limited to,
 o looking at existing documents such as the contracts of carriage and incident
reports;

o requesting additional documentation or data from the entity involved; and

o obtaining a substantive explanation of the incident from the entity involved.

Overview of the Departments Oversales Rule

The Departments oversales rule reflects a carefully crafted balance between the right of
individual passengers to obtain the services they purchase on the one hand, and the ability of
airlines to market their services effectively and efficiently.

While it is legal for airlines to involuntarily bump passengers from an oversold flight
when there are not enough volunteers, it is the airlines responsibility to determine its own
fair boarding priorities.

In the event of an overbooked flight, the Department mandates compensation and other
protections for passengers who have confirmed reserved space on a flight.

When a flight is oversold, DOT requires the carrier to ask passengers to give up their
seats voluntarily (voluntary bumping), in exchange for compensation, before bumping
anyone involuntarily. Airlines may offer passengers inducements, such as vouchers, to
volunteer.

If there are not enough passengers who are willing to give up their seats voluntarily, an
airline may involuntarily deny boarding to passengers based on criteria that it establishes,
such as the passengers check-in time, the fare paid by the passenger, or the passengers
frequent flyer status (do air carriers submit these for any form of record to DOT). However,
the criteria cannot subject a passenger to any unjust or unreasonable prejudice or
disadvantage. For example, an airline could not lawfully use a passengers race or ethnicity
as a criterion.

DOT requires each airline to give all passengers who are bumped involuntarily a written
statement describing their rights and explaining how the carrier decides who gets on an
oversold flight and who doesnt.

Passengers who are denied boarding involuntarily are entitled to compensation that is
based on the price of their ticket, the length of time that they are delayed in getting to their
destination because of being denied boarding, and whether their flight is a domestic flight or
an international flight leaving from the United States.
Additional Resources:

Fly Rights: (https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights)

Oversales Page: (https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/oversales)

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