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U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) programme
ESTA is an online system, designed to determine the eligibility of visitors to the United States before they travel, and applies to citizens of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP).
Beginning 8 September 2010, international passengers travelling to the United States under the VWP will be required to pay a fee of US$14 for the compulsory ESTA application (or renewal) prior to travel. All payments for electronic travel authorization applications must be made by credit card or debit card at the time of application and directly via the ESTA Web site. Accepted forms of payment include American Express, MasterCard, VISA and Discover cards.
Travellers are encouraged to apply for travel authorisation at least 72 hours prior to entering the U.S. by air or sea. Once approved, authorisations are generally valid for multiple entries into the U.S. for two years or until the applicant’s passport expires, at which point travellers will be required to pay the fee again.
Travellers with no confirmed plans to visit the U.S. can still apply for or renew ESTA approval before 8 September at no fee.
For more information about ESTA, please click here
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Information regarding all passenger reservations containing any U.S. city segment or flying over U.S. airspace
Traveller Impact
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has advised all airlines that, effective November 1, 2010, all passenger reservations containing any U.S. city segment or flying over U.S. airspace must contain full Secure Flight Passenger Data (SFPD). Reservations without full SFPD will be rejected by the TSA, and airlines will be subject to penalties.
Because of this, airlines are seeking ways to ensure compliance for all sales channels, including travel management companies (TMCs), and will take the following actions should SFPD be missing from a PNR with U.S. airspace:
· Fines to the TMC
· Cancellation of the air reservation
· Inhibition of ticketing
Some airlines have advised that they will begin mandating the SFPD as early as September 15, 2010. As a result, travellers will be required to provide American Express Business Travel with all SFPD (name, gender and date of birth) when booking a ticket.
Actions Travellers Need To Take
The best way to ensure the SFPD are accurate and included in travel reservations is to verify that the required data is current, accurate and complete:
- Provide Secure Flight Passenger Data information: When making a travel reservation, travellers should provide the required data elements (full name, gender and date of birth). Additionally, travellers should be prepared to provide their passport number and redress number, which is issued by the Traveller Redress Inquiry Programme (DHS TRIP) in order to limit watch list misidentification issues. Please note, however, that passport numbers and redress numbers are not required elements at this time.
- Traveller profiles should be kept current: The best way to ensure the SFPD are included in the travel reservation is to make sure the data is included in the traveller profile, and that all the information is accurate and complete.
Additional information on Secure Flight can be found on the TSA's Web site:
http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/secureflight/index.shtm
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Compensation in connection with volcano crisis traffic disturbances
Regarding request for compensation for extra cost incurred they should primarily be put forward to the airline according to the EC regulation (2004/261) regardless of how the trip is paid. See more detail on the EC regulatin below.
Credit card companies and insurance companies should also be approached as usually credit cards include insurances covering delays and extra costs.
As for refunds American Express Business Travel will handle them in accordance with our normal procedures. This means that provided that an airline ticket, or part of an airline ticket, is refundable according to airline rules and provided it has been issued by us we will refund it. Please be aware that many airline companies are currently updating us with their ticketing rules. This in combination with our current workload will have an impact on the speed with which we can act on the respective refund requests. We therefore kindly ask for you patience.
EU passenger rights (Regulation 261/2004) apply even in exceptional circumstances for stand alone tickets (another regulation apply to packages).
Passengers have the right :
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to receive information from airlines (e.g. on your rights, on the situation as it evolves, cancellations and length of delays), and
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to care (refreshments and meals AND in case of re-routing : hotel accommodation where a stay of one or more additional night becomes necessary AND in case of re-routing transport between the airport and place of accommodation AND 2 phone calls, fax or emails free of charge). There is no limit in terms of duration to this right.
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to chose between reimbursement of fares or be re-routed to final destination. This right covers:
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refund of the parts of the journey not used and for the parts of the journey already made, if the flight is no longer serving any purpose and where relevant a return flight to the first point of departure at the earliest opportunity OR
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re-routing under comparable transport conditions to their final destination at the earliest opportunity OR
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re-routing under comparable transport conditions to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience.
Regulation applies to :
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all passengers departing with an EU or non-EU carrier from an EU airport, and
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all passengers departing with an EU carrier from a non-EU airport to airport situated in the EU unless they receive assistance in that third country.
To access air passenger rights EU complaint form click here
To obtain a list of airline contact details regarding claims please click this link
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New rules for bagage allowance
The rules for bagage allowance can vary substantially between airlines. We advice our clients to specifically check with the carrier if the bagage brought on a flight will be more than normal.
Effective 1st of April 2010, SAS changes the free baggage allowance in Economy Class on flights to/from the US to harmonize with other Trans Atlantic carriers.
The following now apply for SAS:
- Free baggage allowance in Economy Class: 1 x 23 kg (instead of the previous free baggage allowance of 2 x 23 kg)
- Excess charge rate for 2nd piece: EUR 40 / USD 50
- Passengers who want to bring extra 1 x 23 kg will be charged at the airport only, not at the time of booking
- All tickets issued on/after 1st of April 2010 will state the new baggage allowance
- Economy Class passengers holding tickets issued before 1st of April 2010 are allowed to bring 2 x 23 kg, as stated in their tickets
- Valid on both SAS operating and marketing flights