No excuses, including flight disruption and weather or technical issues.

Words by FP Team

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The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announces final rules to deliver automatic refunds for delays, cancellations, or changes in flight itineraries. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that no matter the reason, under the new standards – airlines must refund passengers in cash or the original form of payment rather than vouchers. 

Under the new ruling, refunds are due if a domestic flight timing has been changed by three hours or more, or six hours for international flights – in addition to changes in departure or arrival airports and the introduction of extra connections in the passenger flight itinerary. The rule also provides refunds for specific fees if an airline fails to provide paid services like WI-FI or if baggage delivery is delayed beyond 12 hours after a domestic flight and 30 hours after international flights. Moreover, the ruling proposes to ban family seating fees and guarantee that parents can sit with their children for no extra cost – at the time of writing, only four airlines guarantee fee-free family seating, with the most notable airline being JetBlue.

Biden-Harris Administration emphasized that this measure would prevent airlines from imposing unexpected "surprise junk fees" and could save passengers over $500 million USD annually. These new rulings will unfold over the next 6 to 12 months, marking a significant step toward a years-long battle toward transparency and fairness in airline customer service, ensuring passengers protection in air travel and providing a pathway to refunds when owned.

FP Team covers cannabis, fashion, lifestyle, and design in New York. More about Frasspot

May 04, 2024

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