'Travellers Flying Blind On Overbooking Norms'

The Consumer Council on Tuesday blasted airlines for their "dismal lack of transparency" concerning overbooking policies and the compensation they offer to passengers who are denied flights.

The watchdog said that a majority of the 15 airlines it surveyed failed to provide clear information about alternatives and compensation arrangements for passengers when flights are overbooked.

Gilly Wong, the council’s chief executive, said some airlines even refused to answer questions from them.

Wong said this is despite meeting airline representatives last year, who promised steps to provide more transparency in their policies.

The situation remains extremely unsatisfactory, the council chief said.

The council said all the surveyed airlines had the terms and conditions and relevant information concerning overbooking on their websites, but there was no uniformity in how and where it was displayed.

The watchdog said travel agents selling air tickets were also unaware of this and they would ask customers to contact the airlines directly.

However, Wong admitted that introducing legislation in Hong Kong to govern the matter may not solve the issue.

"Even though this is a very busy aviation hub, if Hong Kong legislates just in isolation it may not be the most effective way to protect the passengers. It requires a stronger regional collaboration before we can make it happen," she said.