Published on : Tuesday, February 12, 2019
More than 3,400 travellers booked on at least 20 flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong would be able to claim the compensation for flights that were either cancelled or delayed, an airline spokesman said on Monday.
The spokesman Jason Liu said that they will set up a special site at their official website soonest, through which affected passengers can each apply for US$100 per day in compensation, with the amount capped at US$250.
All they need is to provide all kinds of receipts, including air ticket stubs, hotel or restaurant bills, and proof of taxi or other transport fares. Liu said it was unlikely many passengers would have needed overnight accommodation because of the strike, with most travellers transferred to other flights, either operated by China Airlines or its partners and other carriers. But if a passenger did have to spend more than the capped US$250, compensation would be handled on a case-by-case basis, provided they had adequate proof or receipts, he said. As for travel agencies and tour companies, their affected clients could expect similar compensation to individual travellers.
But the travel agents said it was unreasonable for China Airlines to offer the same compensation rate to their customers.The official said that in the end the group had to hire a tour bus to transport them to a hotel for an overnight stay because there was no other flight until the next morning. The spokesman asked China Airlines to quickly come up with a deal with the striking pilots before the dispute dragged on, something that would only hurt the airline’s profits and image. The strike also dragged down China Airlines’ share price on Monday – the first trading day after the Lunar New Year holiday – with the stock ending the day at NT$10.20 (33 US cents), a drop of 3.32 per cent.
Tags: airlines, china, china airlines