The rate of canceled flights is down 1.6 percent so far this year, compared with 2.1 percent in the same period last year. However, delays are slightly more common and a few minutes longer on average, according to FlightAware data. (Jeenah Moon/Getty Images, File),
WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden on Monday said he would write new regulations requiring airlines to compensate stranded air travelers ahead of what’s expected to be a busy summer travel season.
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Ticket refunds would be automatic, and airlines would also have to cover stranded travelers’ hotel and meal costs if they are found to be at fault for the cancellation or significant delay. The rules would focus on disruptions caused by things such as mechanical issues with a plane or lack of a crew.
“Our top priority has been to get American air travelers a better deal,” Biden told reporters Monday. “You deserve more than just getting the price of your ticket (refunded) — you deserve to be fully compensated. Your time matters, the impact on your life matters.”
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It’s not yet clear if the new regulations will be in place for Memorial Day weekend (Memorial Day is on May 28, but the travel period starts on Thursday, the 25th, and ends on Tuesday, the 29th).
“Summer travel is going to put enormous pressure on the system,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at the news conference. “Airlines need to accept their fundamental responsibility to better serve passengers.”
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Last year over the Memorial Day weekend, U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,800 flights, or about 28 percent of their schedules, according to tracking service FlightAware.
The rate of canceled flights is down 1.6 percent so far this year, compared with 2.1 percent in the same period last year. However, delays are slightly more common and a few minutes longer on average, according to FlightAware data.
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The new regulations will be similar to those in place in the European Union. Biden and Buttigieg didn’t say how much airlines are expected to pay for lodging during significant delays.
Airlines for America, a trade group representing the biggest carriers, said in a statement that airlines have no incentive to delay and cancel flights, and noted that more than half of the 2022 cancellations were because of “extreme weather” or air traffic control outages.
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The new regulations could have unintended consequences, including higher costs to consumers and less service, Clifford Winston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told The Wall Street Journal
“They’ll find a way to raise fares,” Winston said. “They’re not in the business to lose money, and if the government is going to force them to do something, they’re going to try and find a way to get the cost covered.”
The new regulations are a win for consumers, William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, told The Journal.
“For too long, U.S. airlines—especially the largest ones—have gotten away with treating passengers like cattle, overbooking flights, hiding fees, and allowing outrageous delays and cancellations for which they refuse to provide adequate compensation and accommodations,” said William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project.
Currently, when an airline cancels a flight for any reason, consumers can demand a refund of the unused part of their ticket and certain extras that they might have paid to the airline, such as fees for checking a bag or getting a seat assignment. Airlines often try to persuade consumers to accept a travel voucher instead of a refund.
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After last summer’s air travel meltdown, the Transportation Department posted a customer service dashboard to let consumers compare airline policies on refunds and compensation.
The Transportation Department is expanding the site to indicate when airlines offer cash, travel vouchers or frequent-flyer miles as compensation for flight disruptions under their control.
None of the major U.S. airlines offer cash for controllable cancellations or long delays, only Alaska Airlines offers frequent-flyer miles, and only Alaska and JetBlue provide travel credits, according to the dashboard.
Biden and Buttigieg credited the dashboard with pushing the 10 largest U.S. airlines to provide cash or vouchers for meals when a carrier-caused cancellation forces passengers to wait at least three hours for a flight.
Nine of the 10 airlines, excluding Frontier, also promise under those circumstances to pay for accommodations for passengers who are stranded overnight.
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A report last month from the congressional Government Accountability blamed airlines for a surge in cancellations as air travel began to recover in 2021 and early 2022. The Federal Aviation Administration has also added to the disruptions with technology outages and staffing shortages, the report said.
The FAA recently encouraged airlines to reduce flights to and from major New York airports this summer because it doesn’t have enough air traffic controllers at a key facility.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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