By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com
THE DETAILS
They were finally let out at 4:45 AM on Sunday morning.
El Al Flight 008 was supposed to leave at 11:50 PM from Terminal 4 on Motzai Shabbos. Boarding started at 11:00 PM. The flight experienced engine trouble on its Boeing Dreamliner 787 – a relatively new plane and was cancelled – rescheduled for Sunday night at 2:50 AM.
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In the beginning the passengers were told that the plane was one big computer and the problem will be easily resolved through scans. The captain gave an update slightly later, that the scans did not resolve the problem and that a technical team would soon arrive.
The flight was filled with Chassidim, Yeshiva students, seminary girls and yes, mothers with crying babies. One woman had had a surgery scheduled in Israel on Monday morning.
The El Al staff was extremely nice. They maintained composure throughout the ordeal and dealt with personal issues – one by one. The luggage was also removed from the plane in record time.
The flight was rescheduled to Monday early morning at 2:50 AM. Passengers were notified as to the new flight information by email.
THE LAW
The law is that passengers who are kept on the tarmac for more than 4 hours on an international flight must be additionally compensated by the airline. Although by no means is this information certain, it seems that the compensation amounts to about 2000 NIS in these cases, about $611 extra.
THE HALACHIC QUESTION
What if Reuvain sent Shimon, his employee, to Israel on this flight to do some work? Who is entitled to the compensation?
The Gemorah in Kesuvos 98b discusses a case where a person sent his employee to purchase certain fruits. The vendor gave the employee a gift of additional fruits. The halacha is that if there is no set price on the value of the fruits – then the employer receives the fruits. If there is a set value then the fruits belong to both the employer and the employee. There is a debate among the Rishonim as to the reason why it would belong to both of them. Is it because there is a doubt as to what the vendor had in mind, so they must split it? Or perhaps it belongs to the employee but the gift only came to him because of the employer – they must split it?
The Ramah on Choshain Mishpat 163:6 writes that when the seller stipulates that it belongs to the employee, then it certainly belongs to him. That would seem to be the case here, because the law which demands compensation is clearly written for the pain and suffering that the passenger experienced.
The TaZ, however, disagrees with the ruling of the Ramah. Apparently, he gives weight to the fact that it would not have happened were it not for the employer.
This author is of the opinion that the money certainly goes to the employee because the case with the excess fruit does not involved actual compensation for suffering. The suffering was only experienced by the employee and not the employer and the funds clearly belong to the employee. However, as in all cases, the employee should check with his own Rav or Posaik.
The author can be reached at [email protected]
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4 Responses
The compensation is not only for suffering, but also for the late arrival. In this case the employer lost out because his employee arrived late, may have missed meetings, or come tired and disheveled etc. The lost work time may be a loss to the employer.
I am not paskening, but pointing out another angle that needs considering.
Sir,
May I have the basis for your contention ‘The law is that passengers who are kept on the tarmac for more than 4 hours on an international flight must be additionally compensated by the airline. Although by no means is this information certain, it seems that the compensation amounts to about 2000 NIS in these cases, about $611 extra.’ TY!
I had a similar incident with an hotel. Service was very bad and the manager offered to refund the cost of one night’s stay. I was being reimbursed for the hotel stay by a client and asked a local expert on Choshen Mishpat if I was required to give the refund to the client. He paskened that, since the refund was given for the inconvenience and unpleasantness I had personally suffered, the compensation should belong to me.
The question posed is a minor subset of the broader question of who should benefit when an employee is required to fly for a both short and long trips as part of her work (where the employer pays the airfare but does not compensate the employee on fixed for the additional time away from her family). The airline “rewards” her with frequent flyer miles that can be used for free or upgraded future travel. Is the employee obligated to transfer those miles to her employer? The latter is the more frequent scenario than the case of an employee held for hours on a cancelled flight and rewarded with the federal “payment” for delays over 4 hours. Many small employers don’t have a formal policy on FF mile allocations. Also, what happens when in an “overbooking situation”, she decides to take the offer of a voucher or free flight in return for for getting off and taking a later flight that still allows her to get to her business meeting on time? Can she keep the voucher and use it later for a personal trip?