![]() The Transportation Department is expanding the site to indicate when airlines offer cash, travel vouchers or frequent-flyer miles as compensation for flight disruptions under their control. Airlines often try to persuade consumers to accept a travel voucher instead of a refund.Īfter widespread flight disruptions last summer, the Transportation Department posted an online dashboard to let consumers compare airline policies on refunds and compensation. However, delays are slightly more common and a few minutes longer on average, according to data from tracking service FlightAware.Ĭurrently, when an airline cancels a flight for any reason, consumers can demand a refund of the unused part of their ticket and certain extras that they might have paid to the airline, such as fees for checking a bag or getting a seat assignment. The rate of canceled flights has declined to 1.6 percent so far this year, compared with 2.1 percent in the same period last year. airportsĪfter the pandemic hit, airlines received $54 billion in federal aid that included a prohibition on layoffs, but that didn’t prevent them from paying tens of thousands of workers to quit or retire early.Īirlines have added about 118,000 workers since November 2020 and now have 5 percent more employees than before the pandemic, according to Transportation Department figures. WATCH: President Biden vows to modernize aging, outdated U.S. “Carriers have taken responsibility for challenges within their control and continue working diligently to improve operational reliability,” including hiring more workers and reducing their schedules, the group said. The trade group said more than half of cancellations in 20 have been caused by “extreme weather” or air traffic control outages. Officials at the Transportation Department, which will write the new rules, said they didn’t have a precise date for when they expect to finish, but indicated they are working to quickly publish a notice that is required to get the process started.Īs outlined at the White House by Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the rules would focus on cancellations and long delays caused by things such as mechanical issues with the plane or lack of a crew.Īirlines for America, which represents the biggest carriers, said in a statement that airlines have no incentive to delay or cancel flights. Your time matters, the impact on your life matters.”īiden’s pledge comes just weeks before the start of the peak summer travel season, when air travel could exceed pre-coronavirus pandemic records. “That’s why our top priority has been to get American air travelers a better deal.”īiden added, “You deserve more than just getting the price of your ticket (refunded) - you deserve to be fully compensated. ![]() ![]() “I know how frustrated many of you are with the service you get from your U.S. It would give consumers in the United States protections similar to those in the European Union. The compensation would be in addition to ticket refunds when the airline is at fault for a flight being canceled or significantly delayed. Watch Biden’s remarks in the player above. President Joe Biden said Monday his administration will write new regulations that will require airlines to compensate air travelers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control.
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