How to Check Your Rights During a Domestic Flight Delay or Cancellation
On Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published a new Airline Customer Service Dashboard that details the services and amenities each U.S. airline provides to travelers “when the cause of a cancellation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control.”
“Passengers deserve transparency and clarity on what to expect from an airline when there is a cancellation or disruption,” said Pete Buttigieg, U.S. transportation secretary. “This dashboard collects that information in one place so travelers can easily understand their rights, compare airline practices and make informed decisions. The Department will continue to support passengers and to hold airlines responsible for adhering to their customer obligations.”
What Is a Controllable Flight Cancellation or Delay?
According to the DOT, a controllable flight cancellation or delay is caused by the airline and includes maintenance or crew problems, cabin cleaning, baggage loading and fueling. The dashboard clearly states which services are offered by the 10 airlines responsible for nearly all domestic air traffic — and includes services recently added after the DOT alerted airlines that this dashboard was being created.
What Are Your Rights When a Flight Is Canceled?
The new dashboard will allow travelers to easily compare airlines and see which ones offer the best policies. The carriers that promise every commitment to travelers include American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue and United Airlines. Check the dashboard to see what commitments are not include by Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines.
During a flight cancellation, commitments include:
- Rebooking a passenger on the same airline at no additional cost
- Rebooking a passenger on another airline at no additional cost
- Providing a meal or meal cash/voucher when the cancellation results in a passenger waiting three hours or more for new flight
- Providing complimentary hotel accommodations for any passenger affected by an overnight cancellation
- Providing complimentary ground transportation to and from a hotel for any passenger affected by an overnight cancellation
What Are Your Rights When a Flight Is Delayed?
The carriers that promise every commitment to travelers during a flight delay include American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines. Check the dashboard to see what commitments are not include by Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines.
During a flight delay, commitments include:
- Rebooking a passenger on the same airline at no additional cost for significant delays
- Rebooking a passenger on another airline at no additional cost for significant delays
- Providing a meal or meal cash/voucher when a flight delay results in a passenger waiting three hours or more
- Providing complimentary hotel accommodations for any passenger affected by an overnight delay
- Providing complimentary ground transportation to and from a hotel for any passenger affected by an overnight delay
What Rights Do Customers Flying on Allegiant Air Have?
Allegiant Air is the only airline operating in the U.S. that offers travelers no customer service commitments during a controllable flight delay or cancellation.
How Does This Dashboard Improve the Flight Experience for Consumers?
This new dashboard is part of a greater commitment on behalf of the DOT to make airlines more transparent about their policies and to protect consumers and their rights. Ahead of the creation of this dashboard, most airlines greatly improved their customer service policies.
Passengers deserve transparency and clarity on what to expect from an airline when there is a cancellation or disruption.
Prior to the dashboard, for example, no airline unconditionally guaranteed meal vouchers or hotels, whereas now, nine of the 10 airlines guarantee meals and eight of the 10 guarantee hotel accommodations when an airline issue causes the delay or cancellation. After a summer full of flight issues, this small step is a hopeful one in the right direction.
What Are a Traveler’s Rights Regarding Refunds for Flights That Are Canceled or Delayed?
According to the DOT, if a passenger does not choose to accept the alternative provided by the airline, “airlines are required to provide a prompt refund to a ticketed passenger, including those with non-refundable tickets.”
Consumers are entitled to refunds for a host of other reasons, including a class of service change (for example, a traveler should be refunded for the fare difference if booked on first-class, but then downgraded to economy class due to an involuntary situation).
What Should a Traveler Do if an Airline Isn’t Issuing a Refund?
Travelers can file a complaint with the DOT here.
What Else is the Department of Transportation Doing to Expand Consumer Rights?
According to the Department of Transportation, it is currently collecting comments on a proposed rule “that would require airlines to proactively inform passengers that they have a right to receive a refund when a flight is canceled or significantly changed; define a significant change and cancellation that would entitle a consumer to a refund; require airlines to provide non-expiring vouchers or travel credits when people can’t travel because they have COVID-19 or other communicable diseases; and require airlines that receive significant government assistance related to a pandemic to issue refunds instead of non-expiring travel credits or vouchers when passengers are unable or advised not to travel because of a serious communicable disease.”
The DOT recently published the first-ever Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights and also issued a notice encouraging airlines to seat children under 13 years old with family members at no additional charge.
