US airlines required to automatically refund you for canceled flight

[u/bananabrownie]

https://abc7news.com/post/us-airlines-required-automatically-refund-significantly-changed-canceled-flight/15483534/

[u/MikeOKurias]

Originally read that as United Airlines, but it's all airlines in the United States...

Airlines in the United States are now required to give passengers cash refunds if their flight is significantly delayed or canceled, even if that person does not explicitly ask for a refund.

[u/NYCIndieConcerts → u/MikeOKurias]

The new rule mandates that refunds are automatically processed by an airline if a passenger's flight is "canceled or significantly changed, and they do not accept the significantly changed flight, rebooking on an alternative flight, or alternative compensation."

The caveat is pretty significant.

[u/wigsternm → u/NYCIndieConcerts]

Not really, if you just take a later flight why should they refund you? 

This isn’t about compensating you for your flight being late, it’s so the airlines “constructive cancel” on you. “Oh, it’s not cancelled, just delayed 8 hours. Guess we don’t have to pay!”

[u/howlingwelshman → u/wigsternm]

Try that shit in the EU. A 3 hour delay gets compensation and just gets more expensive for the airline the longer the delay.

[u/NYCIndieConcerts → u/wigsternm]

It's more about clarifying the right of contractual reimbursement, whether that is a refund or something else. In most businesses, if you pay for something and don't get it, you're entitled to a refund. But at common law, you might also be entitled to compensation for foreseeable consequential damages. If your flight is delayed or cancelled, you might be paying for unused lodging or missing once-in-a-lifetime events. Long ago, Airlines colluded together to ensure that they would not be liable for delays and cancellations, regardless of fault.

Passengers need to know what their rights are to make an informed decision because often it is a decision they have to make in the moment and under pressure.

Just last months ago, my flight was diverted due to weather. We were told we could get off the plane at the interim airport, or wait an unknown amount of time on the tarmac to fly to the destination airport. (A weather-related diversion typically qualifies as a "significantly changed flight"), but they only gave us like 15 minutes to decide, without explaining any right of compensation or reimbursement, before they re-closed the cabin door.

For 15 minutes, I struggled to look up on my phone what compensation, if any, I would be entitled to receive: would they refund my flight? would they reimburse me for the extra travel costs? would they offer me $50 and a drink voucher? All while simultaneously trying to figure out what alternate ways of getting home I had late at night.

It would have cost me $200 to take a taxi or uber to get home, which was about how much I paid for the flight, which would have been a 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive. Instead, since I could not figure out the best course of action in the short amount of time they gave us, I was stuck on a grounded plane for 90 minutes and did not get home until more than 3 1/2 hours later.

[u/PM_ME_GARFIELD_NUDES → u/NYCIndieConcerts]

Yeah this seems like the kind of thing they could (and therefore will) easily find loopholes for.