U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has announced new rules against airlines to protect consumers who constantly feel ripped off by cancellations, delays & fees.
“The rules are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to lower costs for consumers and take on corporate rip-offs,” says the DOT. The new rules follow an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in 2021 that encouraged DOT to take steps to “promote fairer, more transparent, and competitive markets.”
First new rule requires airlines to issue automatic refunds
“This is a big day for America’s flying public,” said Buttigieg. “It represents the latest step – two steps – to deliver the biggest expansion of passenger rights in the Department’s history. Too often, the things we have heard aren’t just irritating inconveniences. They are significant harms, and violations of passengers’ rights. We are here to do something about that.”
The first new rule forces airline who cancel or significantly delay your flight to automatically refund you within 7 days to the credit card used for booking. Additionally, it must be in cash by default unless a passenger actively chooses another form of compensation.
“No more defaulting to vouchers or credits when consumers may not even realize they are entitled to cash,” said Buttigieg.
Protecting passengers from surprise fees
The second new rule is expected to save Americans over half-billion dollars annually. Airlines will have to be up front about additional costs. No longer can they surprise consumers with fees for things like checked bags, carry-on bags, change fees and cancellation fees.
“Healthy competition requires that as a consumer you can comparison shop, which means knowing the real price of a trip before and not after you buy,” said Buttigieg. “If something does go wrong and your flight is canceled, the DOT has your back.”
DOT has also launched flightrights.gov, to give passengers easy-to-interpret visuals that lay out what each airline has committed to providing, if they cause a cancellation or delay.
Stepped-up enforcement
Under Biden’s DOT, stiff fines and tough penalties have been dealt to airlines who don’t play nice. Southwest Airlines was hit with a $140 million enforcement action for their 2022 holiday meltdown. That’s nearly double the total amount of penalties in the two decades prior.
Thus far, Biden’s DOT has seen airlines issue over $3 billion in refunds and reimbursements. DOT has also secured partnerships with 18 state attorney generals to help investigate aviation consumer complaints and get passengers results.
“The level of toughness reflected in the Southwest enforcement is not an exception,” noted Buttigieg. “It’s a new standard for our Department’s enforcement.”
“We want the airline sector to thrive. It’s why we put so much into helping them survive the pandemic, and why we’re being so rigorous on passenger protection,” he added. “This will build confidence in air travel, when airlines need to do more to secure passengers’ trust. This approach of collaborating where appropriate, pushing hard where called for, is working.”
More rules coming
Buttigieg and Biden’s DOT are not done yet. More rules are in works. The first would expand rights to protect the safety and dignity of passengers who use wheelchairs.
Another rule in works aims to ban airlines from charging junk fees to sit together as a family.
