Relevant Laws on Rights and Benefits

I.  Important Notices for Flight Booking and Check-in Procedures

1. Consumers are suggested to make a flight seat reservation in order to embark on the journey.
2. When the reservation procedure is completed, it is a must to acquire the computer booking code, the date, number, time, place of departure, destination of the flight, and the accurate writing or spelling of the passenger’s name (for international route, it is a must to confirm if the name written on the ticket is consistent with the translated name written on the passport) from the ticket reservation personnel. Passenger shall also leave his or her contact number in order to be contacted by the airlines in case of any flight change.
3. In case of canceling the schedule, it is a must to inform the reservation personnel by telephone to prevent other passengers’ benefits and rights being affected.
4. During the holiday seasons, airlines may have controls on the reservation hours for some of the domestic flight routes. It is suggested to check relevant details with the airlines in advance.
5. For domestic flights, airlines usually start to process the check-in procedures 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure (for international flights, 2 to 3 hours prior to scheduled departure). Passengers of the domestic flight shall complete check-in procedures no later than 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure (for international flights, 45 to 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure). Otherwise, the flight seat will be filled by the standby passenger. However, above regulations may be varied according to the different airlines. To protect your rights and benefits, please contact your airline company.
6. To maintain your rights and benefits, please make a reservation in advance and have an early registration while planning your journey. 

II.  Important Notices for Purchasing and Refunding the Ticket 

1. Passengers may purchase the flight ticket from airlines or travel agencies and no amendment on the name of the flight ticket is allowed once the ticket is issued. Besides, apart from special agreement, the flight ticket is usually valid within a year after the date of issuance. If it is not used after the validity, passengers may have the ticket refunded from the original purchase unit within two years after the date of issuance and transaction fees will be charged accordingly. Tickets with bigger discount may come with some restricted validity or special restriction. It is a must to clarify all of the details to avoid damages to your rights or benefits.
2. When flight ticket is missing, passenger may report the loss to the original purchase unit within ticket validity. If the airline confirms that the ticket remains unused, the ticket may be refunded and transaction fees will be deducted or charged accordingly.
3. If the competent authority approves to adjust the ticket fare within the ticket validity, the fare of passenger’s ticket must be the same as the approved ticket fare. If not, an overpayment shall be refunded or a supplemental payment shall be paid accordingly.

III.  Services Provided by Airlines when Flight Is Delayed

1. In case of any flight delay, airlines shall provide relevant information through broadcasting and multimedia channels. The airlines are liable to send a pre-notice to passengers who have not yet arrived at the airport. As for tour groups, travel agency shall inform the passengers and have a close contact with the travel agency handling the groups to prevent passengers being detained at the airport.
2. If it is confirmed that flights cannot be departed as scheduled with a delay more than 15 minutes (for domestic flights) or 30 minutes (for international flight), or if the flight route, place of departure or destination is changed, airlines must explain relevant details to the passengers and inform them their method of handling such incident.
3. To facilitate passengers responding to the flight delay, airlines shall keep relevant information updated in the airport.
4. Airlines shall provide passengers necessary telecommunication service, food and beverage, accommodation, warm or medical items, transfer or other transportation equipments depending on the actual situation and passengers’ needs.
5. Airlines shall take care of passengers’ benefits and rights within reasonable range. If the airline is unable to provide aforesaid services due to restrictions caused by actual situation, it is a must to explain relevant details to the passengers and to handle the incident appropriately. 

IV.  Flight Delays Caused by Force Majeure　 Any flight delay caused by the bad weather condition (such as thick fog and typhoon) is considered as a result of force majeure. Although airlines and passengers are both victims, airlines are still willing to provide relevant services and some of them even provide services better than international practice. However, due to some external restrictions (such as unable to provide hot beverage / food, or the transportation to the outside world is disrupted), provided services may not fully satisfy the passengers. The passengers are therefore asked to understand the situation and to cooperate with the airlines instead of occupying the flight, making a stand against the airlines or adopting actions that may interrupt the Airport’s operations. Occupying the flight or refusing to board is irrational actions as it may cause a bigger delay to all of the passengers (the person himself/ herself and other passengers), affect the Airport’s ordinance and damage the country’s image. Even more, the passenger may be subject to criminal liability due to his or her illegal act.

According to current law, the airlines shall be liable for causing damage to passengers because of flight delay, provided that the airline can prove the delay is caused by force majeure (such as changes in weather, mechanical failure not attributed to the airlines, orders or restrictions released by the competent authority, or other necessary conditions). The liability shall be limited to the necessary extra expense incurred to the passengers through the flight delay. If consumers still strive for their benefits and rights, it is suggested to have such issue handled by relevant units through the grievance system.



V.  Tips of Avoiding Flight Delay 　 To reduce influences on the passengers caused by the flight delay as a result of the bad weather condition, consumers are suggested to confirm the flight information with the airlines before their departure during the season with unfavorable weather conditions (for example, when the typhoon warning is released or during the fog season in FEB and MAR).



VI.  Protections of the Travel Inconvenience Insurance 　 At the moment, a number of banks already provide protections to consumers, who have purchased their ticket with the credit card, with travel inconvenience insurance. When incidents such as flight delay and baggage delay or missing occur during the traveling period, consumers can normally receive compensation in accordance with regulations of the card issuer. To protect your benefits and rights, consumers are suggested to contact with your bank to understand rules of travel inconvenience insurance in order to apply for compensations when incident occurs.


VII.  Important Notices for Carrying Valuable Objects 　 Airlines and ground handling agents will take care of passengers’ checked baggage carefully. However, risks of losing or damaging the baggage are sometimes unavoidable. Besides, according to international regulations, airlines are not liable for damage or lose of valuable objects placed inside the checked baggage. The passengers are therefore suggested to carry the valuable objects with them instead of placing them inside the checked baggage.

If passenger’s hand baggage is bigger or heavier than the size or weight regulated by the airlines and must be transported as a checked baggage, we would like to remind the passengers: according to international practice, any lost or damaged baggage will be compensated based on the weight of the baggage. To avoid a bigger lose caused by the missing or damaged valuable objects (as the compensation will be made according to aforesaid rule), passengers are suggested to have their baggage checked with excess valuation charge in order to receive more reasonable compensation. As for the restrictions and transaction fees required for excess valuation charged baggage, and compensation details, the passengers shall contact the airlines for more information. If the excess valuation charge service provided by the airlines cannot fulfill passenger’s need, passengers shall contact the insurance company for insurance prior to their departure.