The US. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced plans to launch new rule-making that is aimed at requiring airlines to provide compensation and cover expenses for amenities such as meals, hotels, and rebooking when airlines are responsible for stranding passengers.
No airline now guarantees cash compensation when an airline problem causes a significant delay or cancellation. Obviously, the rule will have limited effect on Supreme Court justices who travel on billionaire’s private jets. (DOT Imposes Millions in Airline Fines for Cancellations. Paltry Penalties for an Abundance of Abuses; DOT Wants Airlines to Seat Families Together for Free)
“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This rule would, for the first time in U.S. history, propose to require airlines to compensate passengers and cover expenses such as meals, hotels, and rebooking in cases where the airline has caused a cancellation or significant delay.”
Last year, DOT issued the largest fines in the history of the Department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. Since 2021, DOT says it has has helped return more than $1 billion in refunds to travelers.
The progressive proposal, a victory for hapless airline travelers, comes after a two-year DOT effort to improve what is often a dreadful passenger experience. The ten largest airlines guarantee meals and free rebooking on the same airline and nine guarantee hotel accommodation according to the Department’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard.
DOT expanded the dashboard today at FlightRights.Gov to highlight which airlines currently offer cash compensation, provide travel credits or vouchers, or award frequent flyer miles when they cause flight delays or cancellations.
The Planned Rule-making
- Compensation for passengers when there is a controllable airline cancellation or significant delay.
- A meal or meal voucher, overnight accommodations, ground transportation to and from the hotel, and rebooking for controllable delays or cancellations.
- Timely customer service during and after periods of widespread flight irregularities.
- Definition of a controllable cancellation or delay.
In addition to announcing plans to initiate a rule-making that would strengthen consumer protections, the Department has launched FlightRights.Gov and as noted expanded its Airline Customer Service Dashboard to give travelers more transparency about the types of compensation, if any, airlines currently guarantee when they are the cause of a cancellation or delay. The following categories were added to Commitments for Controllable Cancellations and Controllable Delays:
- Cash compensation when cancellation or delay results in passenger waiting 3 hours or more from the scheduled departure time.
- Travel credit/voucher when cancellation or delay results in passenger waiting for 3 hours or more for scheduled departure time.
- Frequent flyer miles when cancellation or delay results in passenger waiting for 3 hours or more for a flight from the scheduled departure time.
Currently, one airline guarantees frequent flyer miles, and two airlines guarantee travel credits or vouchers as compensation if passengers experience significant delays or cancellations that are caused by something within the airline’s control, such as a mechanical issue. No airline guarantees cash compensation when an airline issue causes a significant delay or cancellation.
DOT said the rule-making proposes to ensure that passengers experiencing controllable delays and cancellations are “better protected from financial losses than is the case today.” The Department plans to define “controllable cancellation and delay” in this rulemaking. Also, the Department claims that this rule-making could result in improved airline on-time performance.
Mandatory Compensation for Delayed Airline Passengers
The US. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced plans to launch new rule-making that is aimed at requiring airlines to provide compensation and cover expenses for amenities such as meals, hotels, and rebooking when airlines are responsible for stranding passengers.
No airline now guarantees cash compensation when an airline problem causes a significant delay or cancellation. Obviously, the rule will have limited effect on Supreme Court justices who travel on billionaire’s private jets. (DOT Imposes Millions in Airline Fines for Cancellations. Paltry Penalties for an Abundance of Abuses; DOT Wants Airlines to Seat Families Together for Free)
“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This rule would, for the first time in U.S. history, propose to require airlines to compensate passengers and cover expenses such as meals, hotels, and rebooking in cases where the airline has caused a cancellation or significant delay.”
Last year, DOT issued the largest fines in the history of the Department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. Since 2021, DOT says it has has helped return more than $1 billion in refunds to travelers.
The progressive proposal, a victory for hapless airline travelers, comes after a two-year DOT effort to improve what is often a dreadful passenger experience. The ten largest airlines guarantee meals and free rebooking on the same airline and nine guarantee hotel accommodation according to the Department’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard.
DOT expanded the dashboard today at FlightRights.Gov to highlight which airlines currently offer cash compensation, provide travel credits or vouchers, or award frequent flyer miles when they cause flight delays or cancellations.
The Planned Rule-making
In addition to announcing plans to initiate a rule-making that would strengthen consumer protections, the Department has launched FlightRights.Gov and as noted expanded its Airline Customer Service Dashboard to give travelers more transparency about the types of compensation, if any, airlines currently guarantee when they are the cause of a cancellation or delay. The following categories were added to Commitments for Controllable Cancellations and Controllable Delays:
Currently, one airline guarantees frequent flyer miles, and two airlines guarantee travel credits or vouchers as compensation if passengers experience significant delays or cancellations that are caused by something within the airline’s control, such as a mechanical issue. No airline guarantees cash compensation when an airline issue causes a significant delay or cancellation.
DOT said the rule-making proposes to ensure that passengers experiencing controllable delays and cancellations are “better protected from financial losses than is the case today.” The Department plans to define “controllable cancellation and delay” in this rulemaking. Also, the Department claims that this rule-making could result in improved airline on-time performance.