Airlines slam new rules requiring cash refunds for canceled, delayed flights

Airlines are fighting back against new rules that will soon require them to refund passengers for certain flights that are canceled or delayed. ABC News' Andrea Fujii reports.
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[@user-qt6nn1wf2u]

I’ve lost count how many times an airline has ripped me off. From “refundable” fares that are not as it turns out refundable. To canceling flights and damaging bags. About damn time the consumer gets a little respect.

[@maxiboy2704]

The headline should say “Airlines slams new rule being fair to people

[@venonat80]

Airlines upset it can’t keep the money for reasons that weren’t the passenger’s fault? The regulation will encourage airlines to prevent these negative impacts from occurring.

[@ajs11201]

Exactly. Airlines need to be more realistic/responsible when putting together routes and itineraries. They already know full well that certain connections can never happen in the real world--and yet they gladly sell tickets, take the money, and refuse the refund when the passenger gets stranded at an intermediary airport.

[@fi7959]

Airlines screw so many people over, I really don't care. The fact that they are allowed to sell 'non-refundable' tickets is a joke, if you have an emergency and need to cancel, they get to pocket your money and then re-sell your seat. Every seat should be refundable.

[@tjr4459]

The airlines are actually upset they have to give people back their money if they fail to deliver as expected. The audacity.

[@ljacobs357]

Well done. The EU has been doing this for years.

[@HappyHappy-sq4ij]

None of the airline stats make any sense. Record breaking cancellation, mid-flight scares, chronic staff shortages, and inflation…. Yet customer satisfaction is up and prices are down?

[@ThePursuitWOD]

What’s your point?

[@Lunasent]

What a laugh. The airlines say it will “cause confusion” for the consumer. Yeah, that’ll sell. Trust me guys, those vouchers you hand out are confusing. We understand this new refund policy perfectly. Do you?

[@RandomPersonOnTheInternet1234]

Exactly my thought!!! Fucking airlines! Way to show your true colors on the opinion of their customers.

[@darktemplar8140]

Good. Laws should always be beneficial to the people.

[@UniquelyCritical]

The EU already forces them to do this and their airfares are low.

[@ajs11201]

Exactly. However, I wouldn't doubt the the major airlines in the U.S. raise their prices just out of spite.

[@Bi11yParham]

@@ajs11201and since we don’t even give lip service to our anti-trust laws anymore, they’ll get away with it until legislators decide to legislate for the benefit of the people.

[@willywonkaisdaman2016]

They also have more competition with high speed rail

[@rayleighg9235]

airfares at an all time low? I wonder where they get that data. Also, this is definitely a good way to discourage airlines from OVERBOOKING PASSENGERS.

[@erauprcwa]

So if your flight cancels, you don't want them to book you on the next available flight? Since you're against overbooking, which is what happens...

[@erauprcwa]

@@MyOutsideSocks I bought two first class tickets for $150 total, one way between Seattle and Los Angeles. I was able to book a round trip ticket for TWO, from Portland, OR to Philadelphia (with a stop in SFO) for a TOTAL of $180 within 48 hrs of the flight. Cheap tickets are there, people just don't know how to look for them.

[@erauprcwa]

@@MyOutsideSocks The airline websites on Tuesday nights/Wednesday mornings. Book early morning flights. If able, do not book a connection, if you do, book with a LONG layover. DO NOT buy tickets on the weekend and around peak travel seasons. Also, if you have a friend/family member AT that location you're traveling. Ask them to also look for tickets for you, as sometimes buying a ticket AT the location (for your itinerary) can actually show different prices.

[@JerAndBillyBoughtAHouse]

GOOD!! It's time the airlines are being held accountable!!

[@EricLing64]

Consumer protections? Good.

[@paintinout3709]

Airlines rip us of 24/7

[@trainfan998]

Take that American Airlines😂.

[@DJL0455]

I hate AA like poison.

[@kis4beauty]

And Spirit!

[@Damone7653]

Eastern is horrible.

[@072smith]

Yeah, take that ... Early this year I bought refundable tickets. Canceled the tickets weeks before the flight. Two bill cycles later cus I have auotpay noticed money coming out of my account. Called AA and was told I got a travel credits. Also noticed it expires in 1 year. I called n was told that's the default. I ask , How deh xxxx a refundable ticket is a travel credit. Some people do want the credit; ect. WHY buy Refundable Tickets to get travel Credit ... told her that's idiotic,, It's airline ROBBERY .... I was furious ....

[@joseph.8759]

What about flights that are "rescheduled" two days later causing schedule changes to an entire trip?

[@kingofallkarens]

😂 Hold these Airlines accountable since they are the biggest scammers.

[@williamshaw5388]

Anything to ruin something for corrupt greed corporations.

[@garydare2238]

Here's a thought: airlines build in more redundancy (extra aircraft on standby, one extra crew on call) rather than focus on bloated upper executive salaries!

[@erauprcwa]

Extra airplanes? SO... Where should these airplanes be? What crew will staff said airplanes? Also, airplanes sitting around doing nothing, don't make money and are a waste.

[@user-wh6yx4kr7z]

Airlines are quick to take our money but slow (intentional) of giving our money back.

[@Yilver499]

If airlines argue that everything’s going well and consumers are not complaining then these rules are not going to affect them at all

[@leohorishny9561]

LOL. You have hadyears to perform more favorably and blew it. NO WAY in Hell is customer satisfaction high about air travel, unless they were smoking pot!

[@idontdogmail1669]

IKR! Corporations LOVE shoveling the Bullsh** statistics they PAID FOR!

[@danielhostetler9493]

Color me shocked!! The airlines don’t like being held accountable for their dishonest and disrespectful behavior??

[@johncebasek6252]

A long time ago (in a galaxy...) I was flying back from San Francisco to Pittsburg to Ottawa, and the flight was over booked. Since I gave myself a extra travel day (in case there was a hiccup), I gave up my seat (the recipient was a military member trying to get back home - she was so ecstatic) and I remember the gate attendant handing me 12 $20 notes, a $10 note and a voucher for a hotel as the next flight was the next day. Guess everything old is new again.

[@dressageandalusian]

I honestly don’t get why your airlines overbook flights. Just leads to problems and sometimes massive legal cases!

[@Dfgbuiiyyyybb]

Satisfaction is an all time high 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. Said no one EVER.

[@stephendupuis6062]

I don’t fly for many reasons, but good for the little guy.

[@Duvstep910]

that's gonna be a looooootta refunds

[@wickedlester2743]

Jetblue is about to be bankrupt.

[@DarkPrincessOfLight]

Perfect !!

[@XPPowerz]

Wait this wasn't a thing until now?

[@priscamolotsi]

Great! About time👍🏼❗️

[@marionhartmann240]

😂I bet they are! Profits in the billions and they resent fair treatment of customers.

[@NBAHYPNOSIS]

This should be for all transportation nationwide like trailways

[@agentbb007]

I wonder if this applies to international airlinesor only US airline companies?

[@davidthaler7018]

My guess would be domestic (US) carriers only.

[@ajs11201]

Well, since international airlines are already prohibited from running any domestic routes in the U.S., it's probably going to apply primarily to those airlines based in the U.S.

[@davebrown3371]

That's good .

[@ianpatrick23]

Oh wow

[@GregLakatosChradm]

And when you go to rebook the price will be double. Maybe the govt should be forced to pay both when weather delays flights?

[@Videotime-bu2hu]

Prevent them from raising prices in response this is excellent!

[@crowmack]

Damn right they should

[@Chicagoguy1984]

GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember Frontier bumping me from my window seat to middle seat so some group of middle age kids could sit together on a school trip.

[@vladdestroyer5177]

Will this be safe?

[@mysterymayhem7020]

It must be a good idea when the airlines are complaining.

[@mrz6480]

And who ya gonna call when they don't comply with this new law the automated phone system that doesn't understand English or human representative 🤔🤔🤔

[@RaymondEABos]

Call their HQ and demand senior mgmt. If we ALL do this, they will act

[@mrz6480]

@@RaymondEABos LMAO call whoo and talk to who?? The phone monitor that can't speak English or Ai that doesn't know what a human representative is👽

[@colbystearns5066]

"What?! You mean we can't just hoard all of that money people gave us for a service we didn't even provide them? How scandalous!"

[@Mlogan11]

This is good because it will give you more options to re-book on another airline and not have your money tied up.

[@dennislove96]

Airfare is at an all time high because they compensate people to remove negative complaints and social media posts.

[@goesinevent]

These airlines are terrible, you sometimes have a connection flight that is cancelled to the next day, and you have to pay for hotels from your own pocket.

[@jman1234533]

Well it's good that satisfaction is "high" maybe this new rule will keep it that way.

[@briannastultz1468]

Of course they are. This is accountability and they don’t want to be held accountable

[@john_wick1]

great! make airline accountable!

[@gavannoelles6389]

What are the airline industry issues with the new rules? I mean it is kind of ridiculous. If they downgrade a seat you pay for, shouldn't you get a refund? If they cancel a flight? Add a connection that you never agreed too? I mean when was the expectation that a customer should pay for something that they may never get or pay for something that gets switched out with something else. Ridiculous!

[@PDXKittenFace]

Their tears sustain me.

[@willcookmakeup]

Oh I bet they are losing their minds right now lmao

[@floydross9000]

Air Canada is so screwed haha. Their entire business model was canceling or rescheduling flights and not giving money back.

[@elliebrown181]

I would not say airline satisfaction is an all time high….horrible seats , horrible food like none, boarding horrible….

[@irvingcordova1085]

Airlines are too greedy

[@JohnDoe-bi4ho]

Airlines have no right to resell seats they were given aid for

[@user-lb6md5hp4q]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 thank you Mr Buttigieg

[@kiciacoldspring1621]

Good move Pete because they’ve been taking full advantage of their internal dissonance when it comes to being held financially accountable for major inconveniences towards their passengers.

[@lotelameko2892]

Good

[@golfkid333]

I do think if it's weather or ATC related the airlines shouldn't be held liable. But at the same time they will start saying everything was weather related

[@erauprcwa]

You can prove something is weather related and people will still complain and say BS. I've had a flight delayed two hours (I'm an airline pilot). The flight was between IAD and BUF. It was sunny in IAD and BUF, but the airway we were using to go to BUF was crowded due to traffic going in and out of NYC... There was a thunderstorm in that segment, which caused weather delays at other airports, even though the weather didn't physically affect us, it did have an effect on the flight.

[@golfkid333]

@@erauprcwa yes exactly, I like Louis CKs stand-up: "100 years ago it would have taken you 9 months and half of you would have died on the way." Another time my flight was delayed due to maintenance issues, my mom says "well they should have had another plane standing by just in case." Like so you want airfares to cost double ok.

[@erauprcwa]

@@golfkid333 That's the thing, people think random airplanes and crew are just standing by at ALL airports, at a moments notice. Like, do you really think American Airlines is going to have a random airplane sitting in Wichita, Kansas for our flight to Los Angeles?

[@leohorishny9561]

WTF? $11 BILLION in refunds yearly is a GOOD thing airlines??!!!??🤦‍♂️

[@brashawnwilliams4868]

Yes I Like this

[@Mlogan11]

To be clear so there's no confusion- you will get a pro-rated refund based on what the airlines fail at. If they cancel or delay your flight too long- full refund rather than needed to pick another flight from the same airline. Bad wifi, or seat downgrade? Refunds of seat or wifi charges only, not a full flight refund.

[@gluehd]

thank you government

[@matriksist]

Deduct the airline executive salaries.

[@leosicairos1135]

Delays are inevitable, maybe refunds on canceled flights.

[@Daniel-vh9lg]

Oh boy, let the free flights begin!!

[@MBNeal]

I can't wait to force Air Canada to refund me for downgrading me to Economy. They do it so often.

[@pamelawing5747]

Airlines are screaming and they are getting support in Congress so if you like these rule changes you need to see where YOUR representatives stand on this. You are going to see donations going to candidates. So, don't count on that refund yet. I will have to see proof of customer satisfaction ratings being at an all time high. That just does not seem correct but perhaps it's just my perception.

[@karenouye]

❤

[@jeremyn2008]

Really! Lack of WiFi is an excuse for cash compensation? This is too much

[@reh3884]

You think it's too much to be compensated for the WiFi you've PAID extra for, but didn't get?

[@jeremyn2008]

@@reh3884 request a refund? Why the extra compensation, this is ludicrous.

[@bigvaxmeanie925]

​@@jeremyn2008airlines dont like giving refunds

[@JohnDoe-bi4ho]

That’s the way I t should be. Pay up airlines

[@SamanthaAnderson-ey8jd]

Petey...finally!!!!! Way to go!

[@teriscott685]

About time

[@quitehat7819]

People DESERVE to have there money refunded! I've seen so many flights cancelled or delayed its almost like the airlines intentionally cause it for just to keep peoples money.

[@JohnDoe-bi4ho]

Airlines always overbooked

[@harleyatc956]

Most delays are caused by weather, that’s not the airlines fault.

[@bigvaxmeanie925]

Weather delays only last 1 to 2 hours

[@gemini8612]

@@bigvaxmeanie925you have no idea what you’re talking about. Weather delays also cause air traffic. You guys say things online and are so confident

[@mandelleli]

Airfares due to quadruple in 2024 😮😅

[@UT48D]

What, airlines have to refund the money on the services they didn’t deliver? That’s madness! I for one am outraged 😂

[@erauprcwa]

You get a refund. Great, how are you going to get to your final destination? It's not a refund AND provide a continued service. Nobody reads the small print.

[@UT48D]

@@erauprcwa oh i’m sorry, did i say refund the ticket or you just don’t know how to read? How ironic, you ask people to read the fine print but didn’t bother to read 20 word post yourself before posting your comment. Also the whole new rule is focused on services they charged should be refunded if they didn’t deliver not just refund tickets, from wifi to garbage fees. So refund wifi didn’t work etc means cancel entire flight to you?

[@erauprcwa]

@@UT48D You did mention refund. Point being, if you get a refund, you have to find your own way to your destination. With regards to the ancillary fees, you get a pro-rated refund of the service. If a flight cancels, the airline will work to put you on the next available flight. If you take a refund (which will no longer be in the form of vouchers), you will be responsible for getting yourself to your destination.

[@UT48D]

@@erauprcwa again if you’re the one asking others to read fine print yet you take one word “refund” out of context of my comment and jump to a conclusion shows you have no reading comprehension skills, yet won’t admit that. Talk about hubris!

[@UT48D]

@@erauprcwa oh since you insist on your ridiculous notion on ticket refund. so lets talk about. So tell me what is wrong to give people the choice to get their money back? Especially if the airlines are the party breaching the contract first! If you label the departure time, and it didn’t in hours that means the airlines did not offer the product stated on the contract aka reservation. Air tickets as a product is not just from A to B, the product is transfer people from A to B within the time frame of the reservation! Once you breached the contract it gives the other party the rights to 1 file compensation, 2 void the contract or 3 renegotiates terms. Those are the options LEGALLY granted to the other parties. This new rule simply mandates the airlines need to act like all other companies! Don’t you worry people who file refund, that is their money, choice and responsibility! Say, if the trip is to go there for the cruise, you canceled their morning flight and put them on afternoon flight but their cruise leave at the same afternoon ! So they had to cancel the cruise and no longer need to go, therefore file for air travel refund. See? There are plenty of reasons to just get tickets money back because airlines can’t honor the time frame part of the contract!

[@faribrathwaite7080]

I love this new policy. I’m so happy about this policy. Airlines get away with with too much. I can’t tell you how many times I traveled and my flights were delayed or cancelled. Good job!!

[@sarahschiller5714]

Airfare will go up now too. So stupid!

[@Zenny89]

Goood!!! Them miles and Credits suck and are ripoff anyway.. I need my Money in 7 business days Spirit, Delta, AA, JetBlue 🤨🤨

[@kellysunseri-adams8550]

Air fare prices bout to skyrocket 🚀

[@jaklg7905]

Why? Because they have to refund you when you are cancelled and not just give you frequent flyer miles?

[@bigvaxmeanie925]

If you cancal my flight, i want my money back

[@PetrKlapper]

Wait till they get to EU level and additional compensations come into play ;) Tiny step to fight US institutionalized greed.

[@scillyautomatic]

Pete Buttigieg's America.

[@guybeingaguy]

Now do Lowes, Home Depot and many others I have yet to experience. Add yours here 👇

[@organizedgamesta9615]

lol

[@GrossCouchPotato]

The government is pressuring airlines to keep aircraft in the air at all costs; even if that means skipping unplanned maintenance, or encouraging pilots to fly into dangerous weather conditions. No matter what, airlines will charge every customer more to cover the projected refunds. If the flight is going to be delayed more than 3 hours, might as well cancel the flight, and then charge triple for the new last minute tickets.

[@ljthirtyfiver]

I hope the ramifications for the average traveler are felt . Complaining because you can get wifi ? Boohoo. Airlines dont cancel because they want . It’s generally for your safety because a plane broke , or weather became to severe . I do agree airlines should ensure no bag is lost in the first place or returned in short order to its owner.

[@digressor]

Respectfully, I believe you didn’t get the purpose of the new rules. It’s not to prevent cancellations. It’s for holding airlines accountable for delayed refunds. I’ve been to some and the refunds take not days, not weeks, but months.

[@ljthirtyfiver]

@@digressor I’m not saying it is to prevent cancellations . Im saying the reason cancellations and delays happen. The airlines are not like other business where’s its as simple as you get the product/service and if you don’t it’s the businesses fault. For example: if you order a medium rare steak and its cooked well done well that was well within the kitchens power to change and you should get a refund immediately and if you want you order the steak at the listed price . But In air travel If weather caused a delay what do you want the airline to do about it? Handing out immediate refunds especially during the summer when thunderstorms cause delay is ridiculous . And passengers when they’re refunded hours later for a ticket they bought at a cheaper price weeks ago and are now forced to pay a higher price if they need to be somewhere isn’t the result they’re going to want but they’re going to get it. Yes is some ways airlines will tighten up the operation which needs to Happen. But majority of delays or cancellations are not jus because the airline wanted to pocket your money . A plane that doesn’t get to its destination as planned also cost that company hundreds of thousands just in that day . Giving those passengers back their money is the Pennies compared to that plane being broken or not flown to catch its connection to make 2 other revenue flights .

[@EternityReal]

Trump’s cult will hate this, they will find any reasons to hate on democrats and common sense! 😂

[@PoposteriousExe-ph5em]

Fake md gay

[@tylernaksown7418]

They’re finally being held accountable and now crying about it. Thanks to secretary Pete for this. Trump administration wouldn’t have done something like this for any of us.

[@martingonzalez9399]

Now, they can not rip people off and think twice about what they have been doing to passengers all these years. I guess they will start charging for pressurizing the cabin and letting us breath at 36,000 feet or using the restrooms, of couse toilet paper cost extra.

[@ricoh634]

About time