Dems Press Buttigieg to Force Airlines to Refund Flights, Give Credits

Four Democrat congressmen sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday urging him to force airlines to provide cash refunds for cancelled flights during the coronavirus pandemic or extend flight credits indefinitely, CBS News reported.

The letter, sent by Sens. Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal and Reps. Jesús García and Steve Cohen, described as an "unfair business practice" the refusal of the airlines to give customers cash refunds during the pandemic and instead only providing them with flight credits that will expire in a short period of time.

"Airlines should offer a cash refund for all tickets canceled during the coronavirus pandemic, whether the flight is canceled by the airline or traveler," the letter stated, adding that "Americans need cash in their pockets during this emergency, and it is unconscionable that airlines are largely refusing to return customers' money on a technicality, even as the industry sits on more than $10 billion in unused travel credits."

Although airlines are not required by law to give refunds to passengers who cancel non-refundable tickets, the congressmen pointed out in the letter that many cancelled their flights to protect themselves from coronavirus, making them ineligible for refunds they would have been entitled to when the airlines later cancelled many flights due to the pandemic.

The lawmakers also criticized the "needlessly complex" rules some airlines have established for redeeming flight credits, saying "consumers should not have to jump through hoops or spend hours on hold before having their concerns heard."

CBS News has reported that flyer complaints over refunds went up dramatically last year to more than 89,000 from less than 1,600 in 2019.

Airlines for America CEO Nick Calio has defended the industry by saying that "member airlines offered vouchers and travel credits with terms that were above and beyond government requirements, including for non-refundable tickets or those cancelled by a passenger instead of the carrier."

He added that "vouchers had generous initial expiration dates that were later extended, and our member airlines offered other incentives to acknowledge the impact of the global pandemic on its customers, all while also protecting our employees' livelihoods."

The Democrat congressmen called that response inadequate, spurring them to call on Buttigieg to intervene, because the Department of Transportation is "uniquely empowered to act upon claims of anti-consumer conduct in the transportation industry."

The lawmakers wrote in the letter to Buttigieg that "you have the authority to 'order [an] air carrier ... to stop' an 'unfair or deceptive practice or an unfair method of competition in air transportation or the sale of air transportation' after a hearing if it is in the public interest."

The letter stressed that "We cannot think of an airline business practice that could be more 'unfair' than the industry's behavior on refunds and credits during the pandemic, or a matter more in the 'public interest' than protecting travelers' hard-earned dollars."

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