How to Complain about your service on the airline and get the compensation You Deserve

Flying as a passenger is an often memorable, but there are times when the experience is memorable for all the wrong reasons: flight delays, poor service, bad food, lost luggage, or any of a number of other problems that result in a significant inconvenience or financial loss for the passenger. If you experience this kind of problem with the airline, you may have to deal with it by filing a complaint with the airline or the authorities that oversee air transportation. If you complain, you want to make sure that it gives you the best chance of obtaining an award or get your message or heard.

Dealing with a problem immediately

Whenever you identify a problem on the spot, the best solution is usually to bring to the attention of the airline and give them the chance to solve the problem. If you're at the airport, then contact the customer service representatives of the airline, a manager, or some other employee who has the power to immediately take care of your problem. If you are flying, then contact the head flight attendant.

For example, if you are involuntarily bumped from your flight because of overbooking, you are generally entitled to some type of compensation from the airline. If the airline makes an offer that is acceptable, take it. Otherwise, make a counter offer. If you and the airline can not come to an agreement on counter-offer, then everyone is happy. If you can not be resolved locally, you should start documenting your experience, gather relevant information from the airline, and are preparing to submit a formal complaint to the airline.

Understand why you are complaining

After gathering information about your situation, but before making that phone call or write that letter, you should take some 'time to answer some basic questions about special circumstances:

* Why do you complain?

* What has caused the situation to complain?

* What people or organizations have played a role in that situation?

* What are the things you want to happen that will address the complaint?

* What you should reasonably expect as a result?

It may seem obvious why you want to complain and what you want to happen, but you must be very specific in a complaint to have the best chance of success. If you are not able to come up with enough relevant details, it would be difficult for even well-meaning an airline be able to respond appropriately. It must also be reasonable when it comes to expected outcome of the complaint. You just have to wait for compensation if the company is obliged to do so. It 's beyond the scope of this article to describe every type of situation that may require the airline to compensate you. However, following the advice in this article probably will put you in a position to know if your complaint may also lead to some kind of compensation.

Basics complain

Taking time to assess your situation at the beginning will make the rest of the complaint process as smooth as possible. The complaint process can be roughly divided into the following groups of activities:

* Write the facts of the situation,

* Understand if you have a reason to expect a response or compensation as a result of the complaint, and

* Presentation of the complaint in the places where it can do the most good.

Write the details relevant

If possible, you should take notes as soon as possible after you realize that you are in a situation where you should complain to the airline. Much of the basic information, such as your flight number or airport, it is likely that the travel records. The most important details are those that directly relevant to your situation. For example, if you have been given poor service by a flight attendant, the detail can be the name of a particular flight attendant. If the problem was a piece of checked luggage that was lost, then you would need all the documentation that has been associated with that bag was lost.

One thing to remember is that you should stick to the fact, the information relevant, verifiable and bound to your complaint. For example, claiming it was a gate agent, rude, and accused it unnecessary for a bag can be more effectively controlled and verifiable, but discuss the inappropriate behavior and bad manners is not relevant if the goal is to be compensated at a cost Baggage inappropriate.

Your efforts will help to document what happens to address two fundamental questions:

1. What is your specific complaint.

2. What do you expect the airline to do.

Understanding your agreement with the airline

When you buy a ticket and the airline have a contract that covers many different situations you may encounter during a flight, including situations that are common sources of interference such as canceled fights and lost baggage. No matter what the source of your complaint may be, you should make an effort to obtain documentation from the airline that provides details of the contract they have with you. This is usually available at the gate agent or customer service office at the airport. While it may not answer all your questions, you can say bits of key information such as what specific aspects of the agreement may not have been satisfied or the address where you can send your complaint.

Every airline has a specific set of guidelines that are used for situations such as flight delays, overbooking and baggage lost or damaged. In the U.S., airlines are legally obliged to provide relief especially if you are involuntarily bumped from a flight or if your luggage is lost or damaged. In almost all other situations, the airline can provide compensation, but are not required to do so.

Keep in mind that if the complaint concerns a potential cause, civil or criminal, you will probably have to get professional legal advice to go forward. If you do not get to that level, then you will probably be able to deal directly with the airline.

Filing a formal complaint

If immediate relief is not possible, then the complaint will likely take days or weeks to resolve since it will probably be making a formal contact with the airline. Be sure to keep track of all the notes you made, all travel documents (tickets, receipts, checks matrices, boarding luggage, etc.), as well as receipts for any out-of-pocket expenses that you incurred. Unless you are required to do otherwise, you should only send copies of original documents when you file a complaint.

While you can contact one or more officials of the airline by telephone, the ability to get any kind of resolution goes up if you rely on written communication as the primary means to fight with the airline. The following guidelines will also help get the message across more effectively:

* If you send a letter or an e-mail, make sure your message includes all the options available to contact you (telephone number, fax, e-mail address, physical mailing address, etc..)

* Limit the initial message than one page (approximately 250 words).

* Includes all relevant information that the airline would need to understand your problem.

* If you have incurred expenses or monetary losses, state the amount you expect to be reimbursed.

* Be specific about the outcome you want (refund, other compensation, apology, etc..)

* Keep your letter businesslike in tone.

* Concentrate on the facts, and provide specific information such as dates, names and flight numbers.

* If necessary, send a copy of tickets, receipts or other documents to back up the claim.

* Include the names of employees who were vulgar things, or worse, as anyone could be particularly useful.

* Be reasonable in any application that can be done

If you follow these suggested guidelines, the airline will probably treat your complaint seriously. Your written communication with the airline will help the airline to determine what caused the problem, and can help the airline to avoid the same problems from happening to others.

How to contact the U.S. Department of Transportation

If your complaint involved a U.S. airline or a non-US airline operating in the United States, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). You can file a formal complaint in one of the following ways:

* Fill out the online complaint form available at AirSafe.com complaint to [http://complain.airsafe.org] and the Foundation have AirSafe.com will forward your complaint to the DOT.

* Call the Aviation Consumer Protection Division at 202-366-0511 to file a complaint.

* Use an online form provided by the Aviation Consumer Protection Division http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/escomplaint/es.cfm in note form that requests personal information that the DOT AirSafe.com form does not ask. In particular, the shape DOT asking if you're a passenger, a relative of a passenger, a lawyer acting on behalf of a client, or a travel agency. The shape of these distinctions and AirSafe.com does not require this type of personal information.

* Mail to a written complaint to the following address:

Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue., SE

Washington, DC 20590

These complaints are not used by the Department to mediate individual disputes, but are used by the DOT as a basis for regulation, legislation and media. In one report DOT's monthly Air Travel Consumer Report, the major airlines of the United States are classified in different sizes, also by category complaint. Normally, the DOT does not send a response to the input of consumer complaints. The DOT may recommend that a report is sent to the FAA for aviation safety, or the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for security.

Complaints of safety

When you want to emphasize a specific situation that you believe threatens the safety of passengers, crew, or other members of the public, it is important that you make the authority aware of this situation. In the United States, that the authority is the Federal Aviation Administration. For security issues relating to U.S. airports, any aircraft flying in the United States or to U.S. registered aircraft flying around the world, contact the FAA at the following address:

Assistant Administrator for System Safety ASY-100

Federal Aviation Administration

800 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, DC 20591

You can also contact the FAA to 866-TELL-FAA by phone (1-866-835-5322).

Claims of security for the TSA

In the U.S., the Transportation Security Administration is responsible for passengers and baggage on U.S. flights, including checked baggage. If the complaint concerns a part of the security process or if you suspect that a representative of the TSA is responsible for loss or damage to an item, there are specific procedures you must follow. Appropriate forms are available at the TSA or the TSA page complaint AirSafe.com mentioned earlier.

After completing the forms, keep a copy for your records and mail the application to the address indicated on the application form. You can direct other complaints and comments to the TSA Contact Center at 866-289-9673 .......