The Biden Administration is working on a proposed compensation scheme requiring major US airlines to pay passengers for disrupted flights, in addition to meals and hotels.
If you’ve flown domestic in the US in the last four years, you’ve likely faced at least one or two flight delays or cancellations—or worse, complete system outages—and found yourself footing the bill, without recourse from the airlines.
But there’s potential relief on the horizon: The Biden Administration is working full steam ahead on a proposed rule that would require US airlines to provide compensation to passengers for controllable cancellations or delays of three hours or more. It may be issued as early as January 2025 and is expected to be a game changer for US passengers and the US aviation industry.
“This is not radical—we are late to the game on this as a country,” says Michael Negron, special assistant to the President for economic policy at the White House, speaking at an invitation-only meeting in Washington on Sept. 10.
This proposed compensation scheme would mean US airlines would have to pay a set cash payment amount to each passenger on a disrupted flight, in addition to compensation for meals and lodging. The exact details and amounts are still being worked out.
A similar scheme has been in existence in the European Union for the past 20 years, which is applicable to US airlines when they operate internationally. EU rules require airlines to compensate travelers between $275 to $660 for controllable cancellations and extended delays, depending on the flight distance.
“When an airline cancels a flight because of mechanical or staffing issues, the passengers should receive compensation for their troubles,” says Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who serves on the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
Delay compensation rules are already in place in other countries such as Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Brazil and China, and Australia is set to pass one this year, says Tomasz Pawliszyn, Chief Executive Officer at European consumer rights group AirHelp, who has been advising the US government. If airlines were to choose to pass on the cost of these potential passenger refunds to the ticket price, it would amount to less than €1 or $1 per ticket, he adds.
Passenger complaints against US airlines have quadrupled in the last four years, reaching a record in 2023 with just more than 61,000 filed. “The complaints in 2023 increased by 29% even though passenger volume increased by only 11%—that reflects how ticked off people are when they feel like things don’t go well,” says Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director at US Public Interest Research Group.
Of those complaints, 35% were for flight issues, 20% related to refunds, and 16% related to baggage. Although, she adds, overall cancellations have improved so far this year as have on-time rates.
Major US airlines have disparate rules when it comes how they handle delays. All 10 of them will rebook you on the same airline when your flight is disrupted or canceled and provide meals. Nine out of 10 will provide hotels and ground transportation, while just six will rebook you on another airline, and just three in 10 will provide a voucher. Currently none pay cash for any kind of cancellation or delay.
This article originally appeared on Bloomberg
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