What are your rights when traveling by air?

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – As summer travel picks up, it’s important to know your rights when it comes to traveling by air.

Under current U.S. Department of Transportation rules, airlines can set their own standards for which changes to your flight warrant a refund.

“So that’s important that you know before you go what you’re getting into and what you might be offered,” said Lori Weaver-Hawkins with AAA of the Bluegrass.

Weaver-Hawkins recommends visiting the DOT’s website before your trip to ensure you know what you’re entitled to.

“It has charts that actually you can go onto the website, choose a situation, whether it’s a delayed flight, canceled flight, baggage delay, and when you click on that it will bring up a chart that shows all the major airlines and will show you, at a glance, what that airline offers and how they handle those situations,” said Weaver-Hawkins.

For example, if you experience a controllable delay of three hours or more with any of the major domestic airlines, you’re entitled to a meal or meal voucher. A controllable delay is anything the airline can control, including maintenance or crew problems, fueling, or cabin cleaning.

If you experience an overnight controllable delay, all ten except Frontier will provide a hotel room and transportation to and from your hotel. If an airline declares your luggage lost, the DOT says you’re entitled to a full refund of your baggage fee.

As for the contents of your bag, that’s where travel insurance can come in handy.

“We still want to make sure that people understand and recommend that they do get travel insurance because there are things beyond an airline’s involvement that can cause delays and problems with your trip, so that’s also still a good idea,” said Weaver-Hawkins.

Depending on your plan, travel insurance can also reimburse a trip canceled due to illness or if severe weather impacts your travel.

This fall, the DOT’s new guidelines for airlines will take effect. “We’re gonna see the rule go into effect where we will see consistency across airlines,” said Weaver-Hawkins.

They’ll set specific guidelines for when airlines have to provide refunds.

If your flight is canceled or significantly changed, and you choose not to accept alternative transportation or travel credits offered, you are entitled to a refund. Significant changes include departure or travel times by more than three hours domestically.

“Until then, I’ve been telling people to make sure that you download your airline’s app, look for what they offer should your flight become delayed because we are still seeing a lot of delayed and canceled flights. So that’s important that you know before you go what you’re getting into and what you might be offered,” said Weaver-Hawkins.

Read more from the DOT about the current rules:

In the following situations, consumers are entitled to a refund of the ticket price and/or associated fees.

• Cancelled Flight – A consumer is entitled to a refund if the airline cancelled a flight, regardless of the reason, and the consumer chooses not to travel.
• Schedule Change/Significant Delay – A consumer is entitled to a refund if the airline made a significant schedule change and/or significantly delays a flight and the consumer chooses not to travel. DOT has not specifically defined what constitutes a “significant delay.” Whether you are entitled to a refund depends on many factors – including the length of the delay, the length of the flight, and your particular circumstances. DOT determines whether you are entitled to a refund following a significant delay on a case-by-case basis.
• Class of Service Change – A consumer is entitled to a refund if the consumer was involuntarily moved to a lower class of service. For example, if the consumer purchased a first-class ticket and was downgraded to economy class due to an aircraft swap, the consumer is owed the difference in fares.
• Optional Service Fees – A consumer is entitled to a refund of fees paid for an optional service (for example, baggage fees, seat upgrades, or in-flight Wi-Fi) if the consumer was unable to use the optional service due to a flight cancellation, delay, schedule change, or a situation where the consumer was involuntarily denied boarding. Note: In situations where you have purchased an optional service and that amenity either does not work or is not available on the flight, you may need to notify the airline of the problem to receive a refund.
• Baggage Fees – A consumer is entitled to a refund if the consumer paid a baggage fee and his or her baggage has been declared lost by the airline. Airlines may have different policies to determine when a bag is officially lost. Most airlines will declare a bag lost between five and fourteen days after the flight, but this can vary from one airline to another. If an airline unreasonably refuses to consider a bag lost after it has been missing for an unreasonable period of time, the airline could be subject to enforcement action by the DOT. Learn more about lost, delayed, or damaged baggage.
• Fully refundable ticket – Consumers who purchase fully refundable tickets are entitled to a refund when they do not use the purchased ticket to complete their travel

In the following situations, consumers are not entitled to refunds except under very limited circumstances:

• Non-refundable tickets – Consumers who purchase non-refundable tickets are not entitled to a refund unless the airline makes a promise to provide a refund or the airline cancels a flight or makes a significant schedule change.
• Personal Issue – Consumers who purchase nonrefundable tickets, but are unable to travel for a personal reason, such as being sick or late to the airport, are not entitled to a refund.
• Unsatisfactory Service – A consumer who willingly takes a flight but has a bad experience with the airline or the flight is not entitled to a refund.
• Incidental Expenses – A consumer who incurs incidental expenses such as a rental car, hotel room, or meal due to a significantly delayed or cancelled flight is not entitled to a refund of the incidental expenses.

Read more from the DOT about the new rules coming this fall:

Under the rule, passengers are entitled to a refund for:

• Canceled or significantly changed flights: Passengers will be entitled to a refund if their flight is canceled or significantly changed, and they do not accept alternative transportation or travel credits offered. For the first time, the rule defines “significant change.” Significant changes to a flight include departure or arrival times that are more than 3 hours domestically and 6 hours internationally; departures or arrivals from a different airport; increases in the number of connections; instances where passengers are downgraded to a lower class of service; or connections at different airports or flights on different planes that are less accessible or accommodating to a person with a disability.
• Significantly delayed baggage return: Passengers who file a mishandled baggage report will be entitled to a refund of their checked bag fee if it is not delivered within 12 hours of their domestic flight arriving at the gate, or 15-30 hours of their international flight arriving at the gate, depending on the length of the flight.
• Extra services not provided: Passengers will be entitled to a refund for the fee they paid for an extra service — such as Wi-Fi, seat selection, or inflight entertainment — if an airline fails to provide this service.

DOT’s final rule also makes it simple and straightforward for passengers to receive the money they are owed. Without this rule, consumers have to navigate a patchwork of cumbersome processes to request and receive a refund — searching through airline websites to figure out how make the request, filling out extra “digital paperwork,” or at times waiting for hours on the phone. In addition, passengers would receive a travel credit or voucher by default from some airlines instead of getting their money back, so they could not use their refund to rebook on another airline when their flight was changed or cancelled without navigating a cumbersome request process.

The final rule improves the passenger experience by requiring refunds to be:

• Automatic: Airlines must automatically issue refunds without passengers having to explicitly request them or jump through hoops.
• Prompt: Airlines and ticket agents must issue refunds within seven business days of refunds becoming due for credit card purchases and 20 calendar days for other payment methods.
• Cash or original form of payment: Airlines and ticket agents must provide refunds in cash or whatever original payment method the individual used to make the purchase, such as credit card or airline miles. Airlines may not substitute vouchers, travel credits, or other forms of compensation unless the passenger affirmatively chooses to accept alternative compensation.
• Full amount: Airlines and ticket agents must provide full refunds of the ticket purchase price, minus the value of any portion of transportation already used. The refunds must include all government-imposed taxes and fees and airline-imposed fees, regardless of whether the taxes or fees are refundable to airlines.

The final rule also requires airlines to provide prompt notifications to consumers affected by a cancelled or significantly changed flight of their right to a refund of the ticket and extra service fees, as well as any related policies.

In addition, in instances where consumers are restricted by a government or advised by a medical professional not to travel to, from, or within the United States due to a serious communicable disease, the final rule requires that airlines must provide travel credits or vouchers. Consumers may be required to provide documentary evidence to support their request. Travel vouchers or credits provided by airlines must be transferrable and valid for at least five years from the date of issuance.

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