There’s nothing quite as frustrating like a canceled flight, or one that continues to get delayed hour after hour. Lucky for travelers coming to/from/within America, the U.S. Department of Transportation just issued a final rule that will hopefully alleviate some of these frustrations.
Airlines will now be required to provide refunds to passengers of canceled or seriously delayed flights. Additionally, refunds will also apply to severely delayed checked bags and the failure to receive other purchased services.
The refunds are applicable to passengers of both U.S. and foreign air carriers that are traveling to, from or within the United States of America when alternative transportation and travel credits, vouchers or compensation are not offered or are rejected.
“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them – without headaches or haggling,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Our new rule sets a new standard…” In fact, it’s the department’s largest expansion to passenger rights ever made. So let’s get into the details of this new rule and how passengers will be affected.
What qualifies for an airline refund?
As outlined by the U.S. Department of Transportation, these are the instances when passengers are owed a refund:
Canceled or significantly changed flights
“Significantly changed flights” are defined as any flight that’s departure or arrival time has been altered three hours domestically and six hours internationally. Additional changes include the arrival or departure at a different airport than the one that was originally listed on the booking, when passengers are downgraded to lower class services, disability difficulty with connecting flights or changed airplanes, and an increase in the number of connecting flights.
Severely delayed baggage return
If baggage is not returned within 12 hours of gate arrival for domestic flights and 15-30 hours for international flights following a mishandled baggage report filing, a passenger will be eligible for a refund.
Purchased extra services not provided
Passengers are entitled to a refund if an airline fails to provide purchased extra services including WiFi, inflight entertainment or seat selection.
Do passengers still need to request a refund?
If passengers are eligible for a refund due to the aforementioned scenarios, they will no longer have to make the refund request themselves as airlines will be mandated to automatically provide said refund. Airlines will explicitly need to notify impacted passengers of their right to a refund before offering alternatives such as travel credit, vouchers etc.
How much money will passengers be refunded?
Passengers will be refunded the full ticket purchase price (excluding the cost of any transportation portion already used).
What was the previous rules on airline refunds?
Prior to the new policy, individual airlines were responsible for setting their own rules for refunds. This inconsistency made understanding your rights as a passenger quite difficult.
How soon will passengers receive their refund?
Under the new rule, refunds must be issued within seven business days for payments made on a credit card. All other payment methods will require refunds to be issued within 20 calendar days.
What form of payment will refunds be given in?
All airline required refunds will either be given in cash or through the original payment method such as travel miles or credit.
You can see a more detailed explanation of the airline refund policy here.