With the busy holiday travel season fast approaching, a new Department of Transportation rule designed to protect U.S. airline passengers has gone fully into effect.
As of Monday, Oct. 28, you are automatically entitled to a full refund for a flight that has been canceled or delayed by more than 3 hours for a domestic itinerary or 6 hours for an international one.
Announced in the spring and fully implemented this week, the Transportation Department’s new regulation differs from previous policy in several key ways, the most significant of which is that for the first time the federal agency has gotten specific about how long a delay is too long.
Replacing vague language about “significant” delays that let the airlines determine when a flight had been delayed long enough to issue a refund, the Transportation Department has now clearly specified a cutoff: 3 hours for domestic flights and 6 hours for international flights.
Airlines must now issue full refunds to passengers booked on flights delayed by that much time or on flights that have been canceled, unless those passengers opt to take alternative flights offered by the airline.
The government’s new rules also clarify the manner in which refunds should be issued: speedily and automatically, “without passengers having to explicitly request [refunds] or jump through hoops.”
Airlines have 7 business days to issue refunds for credit card purchases and 20 calendar days for other payment methods.
And refunds must come in cash or whatever original payment method (such as credit card or airline miles) the customer used to make the purchase. In other words, don’t let the airline try to substitute vouchers, travel credits, or other forms of compensation.
Also new: You’re now entitled to a refund of your checked bag fee if your luggage isn’t delivered within 12 hours of your domestic flight arriving at the gate or 15–30 hours of an international arrival, depending on the length of the flight (just be sure to remember to file a mishandled baggage report).
And, finally, passengers are now entitled to a refund for any fee paid for an extra service—such as in-flight Wi-Fi or seat selection—that the airline didn’t actually provide due to technical problems or other issues.
When the Transportation Department announced the new refund rules back in April, Frommer’s contributor William McGee described the changes as a “long overdue” godsend for travelers.
Read McGee’s commentary for more background and his thoughts on what air passengers should demand next.