| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to airline travel; requiring that, upon |
| 3 | the cancellation or delay of a flight by more than 1 hour, |
| 4 | the airline honor the purchaser's ticket at a later date |
| 5 | or reimburse the purchaser the cost of the ticket and pay |
| 6 | the purchaser an amount equal to the airline's flight- |
| 7 | change penalty fee; providing for certain specified |
| 8 | exceptions for canceled or delayed flights; defining the |
| 9 | term "terrorist threat"; providing for additional |
| 10 | remedies; providing for an award of damages, costs, and |
| 11 | attorney's fees; providing that an airline violating the |
| 12 | act more than once within a calendar year commits a |
| 13 | misdemeanor of the second degree; providing penalties; |
| 14 | providing that there is no expiration date for an airline |
| 15 | ticket issued anywhere in the world for an airline flight |
| 16 | originating in this state; requiring an airline to accept |
| 17 | a nonrefundable ticket under certain circumstances; |
| 18 | authorizing an airline to charge a transfer fee; providing |
| 19 | an exception; providing an effective date. |
| 20 |
|
| 21 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 22 |
|
| 23 | Section 1. (1) If an airline cancels a flight or delays a |
| 24 | flight by more than 1 hour, the airline must honor the |
| 25 | purchaser's ticket at a later date or reimburse the purchaser |
| 26 | the cost of the ticket and pay the purchaser an amount equal to |
| 27 | the airline's flight-change penalty fee. The reimbursement for |
| 28 | the ticket and payment of the flight-change fee is in addition |
| 29 | to any other remedy the ticket purchaser may have against the |
| 30 | airline. |
| 31 | (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the flight delay or |
| 32 | cancellation is caused by: |
| 33 | (a) Inclement weather; |
| 34 | (b) An immediate terrorist threat; |
| 35 | (c) International conditions that are not related to |
| 36 | terrorism, including riots, civil unrest, embargoes, or war; or |
| 37 | (d) A condition outside the control of the airline. |
| 38 | (3) The term "terrorist threat" means a threat of a |
| 39 | violent act or threat of an act that is dangerous to human life, |
| 40 | that is a violation of the criminal laws of this state or of the |
| 41 | United States, and that is intended to: |
| 42 | (a) Intimidate, injure, or coerce a civilian population; |
| 43 | (b) Influence the policy of a government by intimidation |
| 44 | or coercion; or |
| 45 | (c) Affect the conduct of a government through destruction |
| 46 | of property, assassination, murder, kidnapping, or aircraft |
| 47 | piracy. |
| 48 | (4) In addition to any other penalties or remedies |
| 49 | provided by law, a person aggrieved by a knowing and willful |
| 50 | violation of this section may bring a civil action in a court of |
| 51 | competent jurisdiction against the airline for the recovery of |
| 52 | actual and consequential damages, court costs, and reasonable |
| 53 | attorney's fees. |
| 54 | (5) An airline that violates this section two or more |
| 55 | times within a calendar year commits a misdemeanor of the second |
| 56 | degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. |
| 57 | Section 2. (1) There is no expiration date for an airline |
| 58 | ticket issued anywhere in the world for an airline flight |
| 59 | originating in this state. |
| 60 | (2) If the airline ticket is nonrefundable and the ticket |
| 61 | purchaser is unable to use the ticket, the airline must allow |
| 62 | the ticket to be transferred to another person. The airline may |
| 63 | charge the purchaser a processing fee of 25 percent of the |
| 64 | original price of the ticket or $50, whichever is less. A ticket |
| 65 | purchaser may not transfer a ticket if the ticket purchaser |
| 66 | missed the flight due to the fault of the purchaser. |
| 67 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |