Biden administration will propose new rules for airlines to improve customer service

The White House said President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would announce on Monday the start of the rulemaking process.

The rulemaking pledge continues a push by the Democratic administration to require airlines to improve customer service, and it comes just weeks before the start of the peak summer travel season.

The rules aim to, for the first time, require airlines to pay compensation that exceeds ticket refunds and cover expenses consumers must bear, including rebooking on another flight if the airline causes a cancellation or significant delay. Will happen.

“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Buttigieg said in a statement.

Currently, when an airline cancels a flight for any reason, consumers can seek a refund of the unused portion of their ticket plus some extras they may have paid to the airline, such as the ability to check bags or get seat assignments. fee for. Airlines often try to persuade consumers to accept travel vouchers in exchange for refunds.

Following widespread flight disruptions last summer, the Department of Transportation posted an online dashboard designed to pressure airlines to improve customer service. The site lets consumers check each airline’s policy on refunds and compensation if flights are canceled or delayed.

Each of the 10 largest US airlines quickly pledged to provide cash or vouchers for meals when a cancellation forces passengers to wait at least three hours for another flight. Nine out of 10 — all except Frontier Airlines — also pledged to pay for accommodation for stranded passengers overnight.

Questions resurfaced about reimbursing consumers for out-of-pocket costs after Southwest Airlines canceled nearly 17,000 flights during a December slump in service. The Departments of Transportation and Justice are investigating whether Southwest scheduled more flights than it actually operated.

The Department for Transport says it is working with airlines to reduce cancellations and delays this summer, when air travel could exceed pre-coronavirus pandemic records.

A report last month by the Congressional Government Accountability Office blamed airlines for many of the cancellations, but the Federal Aviation Administration also blamed technology outages and staffing shortages for disruptions. The FAA recently encouraged airlines to reduce flights to and from New York’s major airports this summer because it doesn’t have enough air traffic controllers at a major facility.