Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 155-168 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | TRANSPORT POLICY |
| Volume | 136 |
| Early online date | 31 Mar 2023 |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2023 |
Abstract
Under EU Air Passenger Rights legislation (“EC261”), carriers must provide assistance and cash compensation to passengers in case of long delay. We study whether the regulation reduces flight delay. EC261 applies uniformly to flights departing from the EU, but covers only EU carriers on EU-bound flights. Exploiting this variation, we find that regulated flights are 5% more likely to arrive on time, and mean arrival delay is reduced by almost four minutes. The effect is strongest on routes with little competition, and for legacy carriers. Thus, consumer rights can improve quality when incentives from competition are weak.
Keywords
- Consumer protection, EC261/2004, Flight delays, Regulation, Service quality
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Social Sciences(all)
- Transportation
- Social Sciences(all)
- Law
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In: TRANSPORT POLICY, Vol. 136, 06.2023, p. 155-168.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Can consumer rights improve on-time performance?
T2 - Evidence from European Air Passenger Rights
AU - Gnutzmann, Hinnerk
AU - Śpiewanowski, Piotr
N1 - Funding Information: We thank Itai Ater, Ilyana Kuziemko, Ricard Gil and Holger Strulik for their insights. Seminar participants in Göttingen, Hannover, Vistula University, Oslo Business School and the European Parliament as well as at the Nineteenth CEPR/JIE School and Conference on Applied Industrial Organisation provided helpful comments. Funding from the German Science foundation is gratefully acknowledged (Gnutzmann). Thanks also to an unnamed non-EU carrier, whose long delay on a flight to the EU provided the initial inspiration for the project
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Under EU Air Passenger Rights legislation (“EC261”), carriers must provide assistance and cash compensation to passengers in case of long delay. We study whether the regulation reduces flight delay. EC261 applies uniformly to flights departing from the EU, but covers only EU carriers on EU-bound flights. Exploiting this variation, we find that regulated flights are 5% more likely to arrive on time, and mean arrival delay is reduced by almost four minutes. The effect is strongest on routes with little competition, and for legacy carriers. Thus, consumer rights can improve quality when incentives from competition are weak.
AB - Under EU Air Passenger Rights legislation (“EC261”), carriers must provide assistance and cash compensation to passengers in case of long delay. We study whether the regulation reduces flight delay. EC261 applies uniformly to flights departing from the EU, but covers only EU carriers on EU-bound flights. Exploiting this variation, we find that regulated flights are 5% more likely to arrive on time, and mean arrival delay is reduced by almost four minutes. The effect is strongest on routes with little competition, and for legacy carriers. Thus, consumer rights can improve quality when incentives from competition are weak.
KW - Consumer protection
KW - EC261/2004
KW - Flight delays
KW - Regulation
KW - Service quality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152658491&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.tranpol.2023.03.017
DO - 10.1016/j.tranpol.2023.03.017
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85152658491
VL - 136
SP - 155
EP - 168
JO - TRANSPORT POLICY
JF - TRANSPORT POLICY
SN - 0967-070X
ER -