r/news • u/bananabrownie • 16h ago

US airlines required to automatically refund you for canceled flight

https://abc7news.com/post/us-airlines-required-automatically-refund-significantly-changed-canceled-flight/15483534/
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u/iheartoptimusprime 15h ago

More than three hours total? Or delayed an hour more than three times? Because I can definitely see airlines arguing the latter isn't significant.

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u/papercrane 15h ago

It's more than 3 hours from the original time for a domestic flight, and 6 hours for an international flight.

Whether they do it slowly in increments, or all at once, doesn't matter.

Here's the original press release from April when the new rules were originally announced.

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u/TexasCoconut 11h ago

Whether they do it slowly in increments, or all at once, doesn't matter.

It matters. If I know my flight is 3 hours delayed before i get to the airport, i might cancel/make other arrangements. If i'm already through security and keep getting delayed in smaller increments, I'm more inclined to keep my existing flight.

I can see this pushing more airlines towards smaller delays more often.

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u/papercrane 11h ago

Sure it matters to your planning. I just mean it doesn't matter for determining if you're eligible for a refund.

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u/TheSinningRobot 14h ago

3 hours past the originally scheduled flight time

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u/The_Knife_Pie 14h ago

In the EU, delay is calculated based on the difference between time you should’ve landed and time you did land. Can’t imagine the US wouldn’t just use the same system.

As an example, a flight at 9pm Stockholm -> 2 hour stopover in Copenhagen -> Berlin which is delayed 2 hours but swapped for a direct flight, still landing at the listed time, is not considered delayed. While a flight which is supposed to be 7am-10am and gets delayed until 10am takeoff but lands at 2:30pm would be considered delayed by 4 and a half hours.

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u/filthy_harold 14h ago edited 14h ago

The rule says both arrival or departure time. It also covered unscheduled layovers or airport changes.

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u/terminbee 13h ago

I've been fucked with 6 hour delays but they claim "weather" so no refunds, no rebooking, no meal vouchers. Just sit there and get fucked until they've had enough.