As an air traveler, we can know that it can often be tough to
understand what you’re entitled to in the event of a delay or
cancellation by your airline. When you’re facing a delay or possible
cancellation, chances are you’re probably flustered, upset, and
ultimately just want to get to your destination whether that destination
is home, or somewhere for work on orders. In early September, the
Department of Transportation (DOT), unveiled a new dashboard on their
website so air travelers can easily see if they’re entitled to meals, a
hotel, or possibly a full refund of their ticket. Previously, when
delays or cancellations happened, it was often difficult for passengers
to understand the convoluted policies of the airlines regarding delays
and cancellations.
This new dashboard makes it easy for passengers to understand what
they’re entitled to when flying the ten largest United States airlines.
These airlines include Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier,
Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, United and the various regional
airlines that fall under the mainline carriers. These ten airlines and
their regional carriers make up 96 percent of air travel. Previously,
many of these airline policies were only discretionary depending on the
circumstances. Now, these policies noted in the dashboard are all
official airlines policies and travelers are now guaranteed to these
with the DOT able to enforce these items the airlines promise to uphold.
While cancellations are still exceedingly rare, with about 2 percent
of all flights in the US being cancelled in the late summer, it’s still
good to know as a traveler what you’re entitled to in the event of a
cancellation.
Prior to the dashboard rollout, Secretary of Transportation Pete
Buttigieg urged airlines to find ways to improve their service. Many of
the airlines did follow through with Secretary Buttigieg’s request. For
example, no airline unconditionally guaranteed meal vouchers or hotels
prior to Secretary Buttigieg’s request. Now, nine of the 10 airlines
guarantee meals and eight of the 10 promise hotel accommodations when an
airline issue causes the delay or cancelation.
Visit the official Department of Transportation website to access the Dashboard.
The Bottom Line
With the DOT now able to enforce these publicly displayed policies,
here’s to hoping for a more stress-free and easier to understand travel
experience moving forward.