With flight delays and cancellations still impacting passengers following last week’s tech outage, many people want to know if they are entitled to a refund.
The rules about when a passenger is entitled to a refund by an airline have recently been updated by the Department of Transportation, but airlines have six months to comply. During this gray area, experts say it's best to rely on the policies that are currently on the books.
Currently, when it comes to a canceled flight, you are entitled to a refund if you choose not to take the rebooking offered by the airline or if it does not meet your travel needs.
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According to a travel alert issued last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation stated: “If an airline offers alternative transportation and a consumer chooses not to accept the alternative offered for a canceled or significantly changed flight, the consumer is entitled to a prompt refund to the original form of payment.”
When it comes to delays, the current guidelines aren’t cut and dry. There is no threshold on how many times an airline can delay your flight.
But that will change under the new rules issued by the DOT, which airlines will have to follow starting in October.
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The new Department of Transportation rules state, "Any cancellation or significant change in a flight is eligible for a refund, regardless of the reason for it.” This includes weather-related cancellations.
What constitutes a "significant change"?
"Significant changes to a flight include departure or arrival times that are more than 3 hours domestically and 6 hours internationally; departures or arrivals from a different airport; increases in the number of connections" and more, the DOT says.
That means if you choose not to take the delayed flight, you can get a full refund.
When it comes to your luggage under the new rules, the DOT says: "Passengers who file a mishandled baggage report will be entitled to a refund of their checked bag fee if it is not delivered within 12 hours of their domestic flight arriving at the gate, or 15-30 hours of their international flight arriving at the gate, depending on the length of the flight."
If you want to know what you are entitled to by each airline, The Department of Transportation created a dashboard to help you find out. You can visit the Department’s dashboard webpage to learn more about the customer service commitments airlines have made to passengers in their customer service plans.
If you feel an airline hasn’t lived up to its customer service commitments, you can file a complaint with the Department of Transportation.
