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Sign up for our daily newsletter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Now, a few caveats on that refund:<\/p>\n
\nYou\u2019re only entitled to a refund for the unused portion of your trip: If you fly from New York to Washington, D.C., your return trip gets canceled, and you decide to take the train home, you\u2019re owed a refund only for the return portion of your trip.<\/li>\n If you accept the airline\u2019s rebooking offer, you\u2019re not refund eligible.<\/li>\n The DOT does not actually define what constitutes a significant delay or schedule change, electing to determine whether a customer is owed a refund on a case-by-case basis. The Biden administration is aiming to provide some clarity on this<\/a>, though.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\nA screen shows the number of delayed and canceled flights at LaGuardia Airport. ZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Compensation during airline delays<\/h2>\n At the moment, the federal government does not technically require airlines to compensate passengers for flight delays that are the airline\u2019s responsibility. The Biden administration does hope to change this, though. More on that in a moment.<\/p>\n
However, as shown on the DOT’s airline customer service dashboard,<\/a> most major U.S. airline provides meals, meal cash or vouchers when delays cause a three-hour wait or longer.<\/p>\nAdditionally, most major carriers guarantee hotel accommodations when delays lead to an unexpected overnight stay, plus the necessary ground transportation to and from the hotel. The only airline that doesn\u2019t guarantee this, according to the dashboard? Frontier Airlines.<\/p>\n
Remember that these are for so-called \u201ccontrollable\u201d delays \u2014 the ones that are technically the airline\u2019s fault, like aircraft maintenance or a staffing problem.<\/p>\n
Notably, these guarantees do not apply to flights affected by bad weather or air traffic control problems.<\/p>\n
Compensation for airline cancellations<\/h2>\n Like with delays, airlines aren\u2019t required to compensate passengers for canceled flights. However, most major U.S. carriers do provide some guarantees for the cancellations deemed to be their responsibility. (Again, this doesn\u2019t apply to weather disruptions.)<\/p>\n
All 10 carriers evaluated by the DOT<\/a> guarantee meals, meal cash or vouchers when cancellations lead to a three-hour wait or longer for a new flight.<\/p>\nEvery airline \u2014 except Frontier \u2014 guarantees complimentary hotel accommodations for these covered cancellations leading to an unexpected overnight stay, plus ground transportation to and from the hotel.<\/p>\n
Related: Tips for using social media to contact the airlines<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
The 24-hour refund rule<\/h2>\n Let\u2019s say you book an airline ticket, then find a better deal. Or, you realize your just-booked itinerary won\u2019t work for you, or you selected something you didn’t intend.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s good news: Per DOT policy,<\/a> in the U.S., airlines must do one of two things: Provide penalty-free refunds to passengers who cancel within 24 hours or allow customers to place a 24-hour hold on a ticket without purchasing it.<\/p>\nThis goes even for basic economy tickets and those that are technically \u201cnonrefundable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several airlines provide for changes and cancelations<\/a> beyond 24 hours, depending on the fare type, but they all have to give that 24-hour window of some sort.<\/p>\nThose rules came into effect in 2012 when the DOT ordered airlines to allow passengers to cancel a nonrefundable booking or reservation within 24 hours of purchase as long as the booking is made at least seven days before the flight.<\/p>\n
Tarmac delay rights<\/h2>\n Airlines should not leave you on a plane on the tarmac for hours-long delays. Airlines have gotten much better about letting passengers off planes if they can’t get clearance to take off in a reasonable amount of time because the DOT cracked down on long tarmac delays by issuing rules in 2010.<\/p>\n\nHOWARD KINGSNORTH\/GETTY IMAGES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAirlines are now required to provide food and drinking water after passengers have been sitting for two hours or more on a plane on the ground. Airlines must allow passengers to get off by the three-hour mark for domestic flights and four hours for international flights. If the airline doesn’t follow these rules, it is subject to large fines from the DOT.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, some have argued<\/a> that these rules have actually made delays worse. Either way, passengers have a right to avoid sitting indefinitly on the tarmac, unable to get off the plane.<\/p>\nNew airline passenger rights under consideration<\/p>\n
While the majority of U.S. airlines guarantee things like meal vouchers and a complimentary hotel night when they are responsible for a major delay or cancellation, the Biden administration wants to go even further.<\/p>\n
In May, the DOT announced a plan to propose rules<\/a> that would require airlines to compensate passengers for these so-called \u201ccontrollable\u201d cancellations and delays. (Again, this wouldn\u2019t apply to bad weather and other factors outside the airline\u2019s control.)<\/p>\nAs part of the proposed rulemaking, the DOT also hopes to provide more clarity around the types of delays or cancellations that would make a passenger eligible for compensation.<\/p>\n
If ultimately approved, the rule would seemingly bring consumer protections a bit more in line with those in the European Union <\/a>under the provision known as EU261.<\/p>\nA DOT spokesperson told TPG, \u201cDOT has taken unprecedented action to protect and expand travelers rights when airlines cause cancellations and delays. Before Secretary [Pete] Buttigieg was sworn in, none of the largest U.S. airlines guaranteed meals, hotels, or transportation when they were the cause of a cancellation \u2014 now 10 guarantee meals and transportation and nine offer hotels. Additionally, this Administration has helped return over a billion dollars in refunds to travelers, has fined airlines at all-time highs, and is continuing to fight to expand passengers’ rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
Major airline trade groups have criticized the proposals, pointing to existing guarantees by airlines for meals, hotels and ground transportation; they warn that regulations could drive up costs for all passengers.<\/p>\n
The DOT has separately proposed requiring airlines to proactively inform passengers if they\u2019re entitled to a refund and to refund for paid services (like Wi-Fi) that the customer doesn\u2019t actually receive.<\/p>\n
Will there be a new airline passenger bill of rights?<\/h2>\n Some political leaders want to go even further than the current air passenger rules being proposed by the DOT.<\/p>\n
Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ed Markey of Massachusetts have written a law that would enshrine rights to airline passengers \u2014 much as the Bill of Rights protects the rights of Americans.<\/p>\n
“I am taking this renewed debacle as more evidence of the need to provide not only refunds but also additional compensation like the $1,350 if flights are delayed more than four hours, which is part of my bill of rights. $1,350 on top of refunds and alternative transportation expenses. Because the only message that the airlines seem to understand is dollars and cents,” Blumenthal shared with TPG.<\/p>\n
“And if they have to pay a penalty beyond refunds and beyond paying for alternative transportation, it will get their attention. And also giving passengers the right to sue, the right to legal recourse is very important because the Department of Transportation isn’t always as vigorous as it should be.”<\/p>\n
Under the proposed legislation, airlines would be required to refund tickets for flights delayed as little as one hour and provide alternative transportation. They would also be required to pay for food and hotels. Finally, the bill would forbid airlines from using weather as an excuse for delays and cancellations when it’s actually their fault.<\/p>\n
A challenge for passengers is that, even with that proposed legislation, there is an “out” for weather or other acts of God. It’s not clear if the current situation or the meltdown Southwest Airlines suffered during Christmas would be considered weather-related or not for the purposes of coverage by that bill of rights.<\/p>\n
But these proposed new airline passenger bills of rights are a long way from passage. Airlines for America has called the legislation \u201cshort-sighted” and promised to campaign against it.<\/p>\n
Related: This EU261 claim netted a passenger $1,900 for a delayed flight<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Bottom line<\/h2>\n We wish we had better news to share with you, but the current list of airline passenger rights is short.<\/p>\n
Regarding delays and cancellations due to weather, the airlines have a lot of wiggle room in compensating passengers. That said, just like during Southwest’s Christmas week meltdown<\/a>, we are hopeful the airlines will do the right thing and make consumers whole for costs like meals, lodging and alternate flights in the end.<\/p>\nThat said, you will need to be your own best advocate these days. Keep a record of all expenses and report your case directly to the airline for compensation. If you don’t get relief, you can always contact your representatives in Congress and even file a complaint with the DOT.<\/p>\n
The worst thing they could tell you is no. Even then, if you used the right credit card to book your ticket<\/a>, you’ll still have an avenue to recoup some of your additional expenses.<\/p>\nAdditional reporting by Sean Cudahy.<\/em><\/p>\nRelated reading:<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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