With the summer season upon us and more and more people taking to the skies at Bay Area airports, new rules are aimed at helping passengers fed up with delays, cancellations, lost luggage and hidden fees.
In 2023, more than 70 million passengers traveled through local airports, a significant increase compared to the previous year.
In what is being called the largest expansion of passenger rights in the history of the Department of Transport, new rules announced on Wednesday will make it easier for travelers to get their money back if their flight is delayed or canceled. It’s all part of the Biden administration’s plan to strengthen consumer protections.
“I’m usually on a plane about once or twice a week,” says attorney David Amell. He flew back to Oakland from LAX on Wednesday and said he was bumped off his original flight and rebooked on a later flight.
Amell said that’s not bad compared to a Saturday a few months ago, when he was stuck at LAX for more than eight hours due to cancellations.
“I think I got a $150 voucher. At that point I would have paid them an extra $150 to get on a flight,” the frequent flyer told CBS News Bay Area.
It’s situations like those that have prompted the Department of Transportation to draw up new rules to protect travelers.
“We’ve heard it all. And too often, the things we hear about aren’t just annoying inconveniences. They involve significant harm, and more importantly, violations of passengers’ rights. And we’re here to do something about it to do,” said Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
The rules announced Wednesday require a refund — and not flight credits or miles — for a canceled flight.
If passengers are delayed by more than three hours on a domestic flight or six hours on an international flight, they can get a refund if they don’t want to fly.
Baggage fees will also be refunded if a checked bag is significantly delayed, and passengers will receive a refund if the services they paid for are unavailable, such as broken Wi-Fi.
Airlines are now also required to disclose costs in advance for things like checked baggage, carry-on baggage or changing or canceling a flight.
“This isn’t just about enforcement if something goes wrong. It makes it less likely that anything would go wrong at all,” Buttigieg said.
It’s a welcome change for passengers like Angela Menjibar, who missed a connection while returning from an international trip.
“Last night my flight was delayed leaving Montego Bay. I was able to miss my flight just in time, I had to be rebooked,” she said.
Menjibar also told CBS News Bay Area that she hopes the new rules will also encourage airlines to plan better and solve problems before they happen.
‘It should be a wake-up call for them. Every time someone gets hit in the wallet, that should wake you up, right?’ Menjibar said.
“Cancellations and delays happen. But they shouldn’t happen because the airline is just trying to maximize profits. So I think these kinds of measures from the government are great,” Amell said.
The new rules on refunds will come into effect in six months. The rest will start in a year.
A spokesperson for the Airlines for America group, which represents the largest U.S. airlines, said airlines are offering “a range of options, including fully refundable grants, to increase air travel availability and help customers make ticket selections that best suit their needs.” needs” and noted The number of complaints about reimbursement has fallen sharply since mid-2020.
Katie Nielsen
