05/02/2014 World Business Report

BBC News. Now for the latest financial news with Sally Bundock

and World Business Report. Know your rights: the EU votes on

new compensation packages for delayed airline passengers. Gearing

up for the Delhi car show: Concerns over vehicle sales in India is set

to overshadow today's glitzy new model launches Welcome to World

Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. Also in the show,

how are Asian markets faring today following the massive falls

yesterday? Our team in Singapore will have the latest for you. But

first. Queuing and delays are part of the course when it comes to

flying around the world. But when can a passenger claim compensation

for protracted delays? For example do you deserve your money back if

you are kept waiting on a short haul flight for more than three hours?

These are the questions the European parliament hopes to clarify in a new

air passenger rights bill today. The Commission wants to improve the

information available to passengers in the event of delays and set out

the rules for compensation. They include. The right for passengers to

disembark planes stuck on the tarmac after two hours. The right for

compensation after a three hour delay on short haul flights. And to

force airlines to take out insurance policies that ensure all passengers

are returned home if the airline becomes insolvent. The new measures

will be voted on by the European parliament later today. So what do

airlines make of this? David Henderson is spokesperson for the

Association of European Airlines. Welcome to the programme. Many would

look at this and think, clearer rules about compensation, surely

that is a good thing. Clearer rules, for sure. The current

situation, passengers are already protected. They have been for many

years. There are many grey areas and areas of uncertainty which do need

clarifying. Talking of the grey areas, is strike action one of

those? For example if staff in an airport or airline staff are on

strike and this causes delays and problems, that is a grey area is

not. One of the things which the process is looking at is so called,

extraordinary circumstances in which circumstances which an airline can

do nothing about. There is a certain amount of debate about whether a

strike, the hit of airport personnel, constitutes an extra

Greek circumstantial. We would say, yes it does. Even if you know about

it in France, if the whole of French airspace closes down, there is not

much you can do to avoid delays. In terms of compensation, surely it

would boost the airline industry is passengers knew when things go

wrong. They will get good compensation and the process will be

clear. They will be more willing to fly? The whole compensation issue is

a complicated one. When the current rules were formulated ten years ago,

there was no question of compensating passengers for delay.

They were looked after, of course. They were given meals and

accommodation but financial compensation was limited to

passengers whose flights were cancelled for no good reason or who

turned up and there was not a seat for them even though they had a

ticket. The issue of compensating people for delay is something which

has risen throughout the last ten years and what these rules set out

to do is to clarify when and under what circumstances that may happen.

In a short response, as you say, the devil is in the detail. Are you

hopeful that today's vote on these rules will clarify the situation and

will enable the system to work better for passengers and airlines?

We would hope so. Today's vote is part of a process that involves the

other areas of the European Union. When all is clear, we would like to

think that the passenger will be better served with better

information and clarity. David Henderson.

It is press day at the Delhi car show in India today with carmakers

from around the world hoping that their latest model will be the must

have vehicle of 2014. India's car industry has been hit by a prolonged

slowdown after car sales dipped for the first time in over a decade. So

as India gears up to host one of the biggest auto expos in Asia, can the

sector come out of the slump? Shilpa Kannan has more from the Delhi car

show. Trying to get back into the

spotlight, these are the first new cars from Tata Motors in nearly four

years. It is one of the country 's biggest carmakers. But sales fell by

more than one third last year. Worse than any of its rivals. It was not

meant to pan out like this. This was the ultra cheap small car that Tata

Motors created. Supposed to revolutionise the industry. But the

$2000 Nano has disappointed since its launch. The company, now wants

to change its strategy. If you look at the buyers, look at the

demographic. We are seeing younger buyers coming to the market. Cheap

is not what they are looking for, they are looking for the right value

and something that in hands of their identity. We are embarking on a

complete repositioning of that. It is not just Tata Motors. Every other

Indian carmaker is trying to tempt the consumers. In a market down 10%,

one of its worst years in a decade. Customers are hardly flocking to the

showrooms these days. Borrowing has become more expensive in the last

couple of years. With two thirds of cars in India being sold on loads,

purchasing decisions are now delayed. The market is not uniformly

bad. Foreign firms are sitting on months of order. -- orders.

Launching a new prototype of the existing compact car, the company

says that getting India right is critical. Our investments are on

track. We are investing billions in India, some of that on a new

facility. That facility will be operational by the end of the year.

Great potential in this market. While India's urban roads may be

struggling with traffic, there are millions of people still looking to

buy their first car. Carmakers in Asia's third last is auto market are

hoping that the show will drive interest and sales to help change

the fortunes of the industry. Now, yesterday we covered the

markets sliding around the world. But stocks in Asia are faring a

better today. Let's cross over to Rico Hizon - live in our Asia hub in

Singapore now - to find out. How is it going? There was an exciting

start to the market today. The rally fizzled in midday trading with

sentiment now rather miss -- mixed. You have Hong Kong in ever did -- in

negative territory. Australia is bucking the upward trend in some of

the market is with the Australian dollar gaining in the central bank.

It is easing bias towards interest rates. The performance was all the

more disappointing as a major corporate names reported up the

earnings. Japan is currently being led by Panasonic. To get

Panasonic is the shining star today in terms of the share price

performance? It is all because of several reasons. Cost-cutting, a

steady new home construction set and a depreciation of the Japanese yen

against the US dollar. The currency is declined has helped Japanese

exporters. It also benefited domestically from last-minute

purchases for appliances, television sets and batteries ahead of the

April one increase. Thank you for in investing your time

is with us!