What if you got paid $2,000 to get bumped off a flight?

A new bill could ban airlines from charging unreasonably high fees for basic services like checked bags, seat selection and ticket changes.

$2,000 compo for annoying plane problem. Picture: iStock

Don’t you hate it when you turn up at the airport only to be told there’s no seat for you on your flight?

Though it’s not a common occurrence in Australia, overbooking is rife in the United States.

Denied boarding happens when there are more passengers scheduled to fly than available seats, Escape reports.

The practice of overbooking isn’t illegal which is why US airlines continue to do it. They oversell scheduled flights to compensate for no shows and most of the time, they accurately predict the amount of people who don’t turn up.

Being compensated to the tune of $2k might make being bumped a little more bearable. Picture: Getty

But sometimes, passengers are bumped as a result of overselling tickets.

Appropriately named the Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights and Forbidding Airlines from Imposing Ridiculous (FAIR) Fees Act, the new bill has been introduced in the wake of a Southwest Airlines scheduling fiasco.

In December 2022, the airline cancelled 17,000 flights which left thousands of travellers stranded over the holidays.

A new bill in the US may work in the favour of passengers. Picture: iStock

Though the airline initially pegged cancelled flights on a winter storm, as the weather started improving, disruptions kept plaguing Southwest passengers.

It eventually came to light that the airline was grappling with its outdated crew-scheduling technology, leaving planes without crew or pilots to service flights.

Managers and volunteer employees were forced to manually reassign pilots and flight attendants.

Flying with American carriers continues to be a subpart experience and thanks to the new proposed bill, airlines in the USA could be forced to pay passengers who are bumped from an oversold flight around US$1,350 ($A2,000).

Air travel has become more stressful, unpredictable, and uncomfortable for flyers. Picture: iStock

Introduced by Senator Edward J. Markey and Senator Richard Blumenthal, the new bill would require airlines to provide ticket refunds and alternative transportation for delays between one to four hours.

For delays over four hours, airlines would need to pay for meals and lodging. On top of that, if a passenger is bumped as a result of an oversold flight, the bill would mandate that airlines must immediately refund bag fees for damaged or lost bags.

Aiming to expand protection for travellers, the bill would also prohibit airlines from charging unreasonably high fees for basic services like checked bags, seat selection, and ticket changes.

“Air travellers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for basics like a carry-on bag, a seat next to their children or even for a sip of water, especially as airlines continue to fail passengers at every turn,” said Senator Markey.

“Our nation’s largest airlines can’t even guarantee consumers that their flights won’t be delayed or cancelled, that their luggage won’t be lost, or that they won’t get stranded at the gate because of overbooking.

These days travellers are being stung with charges for extras that used to be included in the fare. Picture: iStock

“The status quo won’t fly any longer. We must empower regulators and uphold passengers’ rights so they are treated with dignity before, during, and after their flight.”

Senator Blumenthal added that the Southwest Airlines debacle is just the latest example of how urgently the nation needs stronger passenger protections.

The disaster is estimated to cost the airline $1.6 billion, though the 17,000 cancelled flights are a drop in the bucket of the 210,000 flights cancelled by airlines over 2022.

“Air travel has become more stressful, unpredictable, and uncomfortable for flyers. This legislation will establish clear, enforceable rules for airlines to follow, putting consumers first and restoring sanity to the skies,” Sentator Blumenthal said.

The bill goes further and even proposes cracks down on airlines using weather as an excuse for delays and cancellations that are actually the airlines’ fault.

It also stipulates mandating the availability of drinking water free of charge and that all restrooms must be in working order on aircraft.

“If Southwest faced these kinds of potential penalties and consumer class-action, it might have updated its IT systems,” Senator Blumenthal said.

This story originally appeared on Escape and is republished here with permission