Australians will share in $900 million in travel refunds from various airlines
- Replies 1
Whether it’s a last-minute change in plans or an unfortunate delay, travelling can often be more trouble than it’s worth. On top of that, the cost of airfare these days is sky-high!
And chances are you’ve also had your fair share of bad experiences when it comes to getting a refund for your flight.
But there may be some good news on the horizon for disgruntled Aussie travellers, as major airlines have been ordered to pay back more than USD 600 million (around AUD 900 million) to customers.
The US Department of Transport recently announced the ‘historic enforcement actions’ against six of the major US airlines, and ordered them to pay back around AUD 900 million to hundreds of thousands of travellers who were owed a refund, due to cancelled or delayed flights.
Airlines and ticket agents must provide refunds if the airline ‘cancels or significantly changes a flight to, from or within the US’ and the traveller doesn’t want to accept alternative offers.
It has been confirmed that the refund applies to both US and international travellers, meaning Aussies can cash in the refund if they are eligible.
This comes after the authorities said it had been ‘flooded’ with complaints about the airline's failure to provide quality service to travellers, specifically timely refunds since the beginning of the pandemic.
The following airlines (and the required refunds they need to pay) are provided below:
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: ‘When a flight gets cancelled, passengers seeking refunds should be paid back promptly. Whenever that doesn’t happen, we will act to hold airlines accountable.’
He added that the majority of the assessed airline fines will be collected in the form of payments to the Treasury Department. The rest will be credited based on payments to travellers ‘beyond the legal requirement’.
In Australia, similar calls for compensation for flight delays and cancellations have been made – ahead of the Christmas travel season.
It is up to the airlines to decide whether customers are eligible for compensation or a refund, as local laws and policies are different in our country.
International Aerospace Law & Policy Group Legal Practice Director Joseph Wheeler said changes have to be done to ensure our travellers are supported.
‘Australia needs a revision to its own way of handling domestic and international delay compensation,’ Mr Wheeler told reporters.
He added: ‘Some opportunities of course cannot be recovered with money but surely airlines, with monetary penalties in place to help them avoid preventable delays and issues, will ultimately improve their services to ensure not only customer satisfaction but a better bottom line for them too.’
Members, what are your thoughts on this? Have you ever had an unsatisfactory experience with an airline? Tell us all about it in the comments!
And chances are you’ve also had your fair share of bad experiences when it comes to getting a refund for your flight.
But there may be some good news on the horizon for disgruntled Aussie travellers, as major airlines have been ordered to pay back more than USD 600 million (around AUD 900 million) to customers.
The US Department of Transport recently announced the ‘historic enforcement actions’ against six of the major US airlines, and ordered them to pay back around AUD 900 million to hundreds of thousands of travellers who were owed a refund, due to cancelled or delayed flights.
Airlines and ticket agents must provide refunds if the airline ‘cancels or significantly changes a flight to, from or within the US’ and the traveller doesn’t want to accept alternative offers.
It has been confirmed that the refund applies to both US and international travellers, meaning Aussies can cash in the refund if they are eligible.
The refund applies to international travellers as well. Credit: Nataliya Vaitkevich in Pexels
This comes after the authorities said it had been ‘flooded’ with complaints about the airline's failure to provide quality service to travellers, specifically timely refunds since the beginning of the pandemic.
The following airlines (and the required refunds they need to pay) are provided below:
- Frontier Airlines – US 222 million (or AUD 333.9 million) in required refunds, plus US 2.2 million in penalties (AUD 3.10 million).
- Air India – US 121.5 million (around AUD 182.8 million) in required refunds, plus US 1.4 million in penalties (AUD 2.1 million).
- TAP Portugal – US 126.5 million (or AUD 190.3 million) in required refunds, plus US 1.1 million in penalties (AUD 1.6 million).
- Aeromexico – US 13.6 million (around AUD 20.5 million) in required refunds, plus US 900,000 in penalties (AUD 1.4 million).
- El Al – US 61.9 million (around AUD 93.2 million) in required refunds, plus US 900,000 in penalties (AUD 1.4 million).
- Avianca – US 76.8 million (or AUD 115.6 million) in required refunds, plus US 750,000 in penalties (AUD 1 million).
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: ‘When a flight gets cancelled, passengers seeking refunds should be paid back promptly. Whenever that doesn’t happen, we will act to hold airlines accountable.’
He added that the majority of the assessed airline fines will be collected in the form of payments to the Treasury Department. The rest will be credited based on payments to travellers ‘beyond the legal requirement’.
Civil penalties were also imposed against the six airlines over extreme delays in providing refunds. Credit: SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS in Pexels
In Australia, similar calls for compensation for flight delays and cancellations have been made – ahead of the Christmas travel season.
It is up to the airlines to decide whether customers are eligible for compensation or a refund, as local laws and policies are different in our country.
International Aerospace Law & Policy Group Legal Practice Director Joseph Wheeler said changes have to be done to ensure our travellers are supported.
‘Australia needs a revision to its own way of handling domestic and international delay compensation,’ Mr Wheeler told reporters.
He added: ‘Some opportunities of course cannot be recovered with money but surely airlines, with monetary penalties in place to help them avoid preventable delays and issues, will ultimately improve their services to ensure not only customer satisfaction but a better bottom line for them too.’
.png){kind=icon}
