HARTFORD, CT – Connecticut airline passengers will soon have more protections against canceled and delayed flights and junk fees.
During a press conference on Monday, Attorney General William Tong and US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, detailed new federal Department of Transportation rules that will take effect June 25.
The DOT and several attorneys general came to a memorandum of understanding on the rules, Tong said.
The agreement protects travelers related to things like cancellations, unreasonable delays, and fees they did not expect to pay, he said.
“And so, if this matures into a live dispute or someone has to take legal action, this move says the DOT will team up with us and work together and vindicate the rights of Connecticut travelers,” Tong said.
Tong added the new rule clarifies what a ‘significant change’ is when it comes to a flight and also allows for passengers to get refunds more easily.
“So, if you’re unreasonably delayed or your flight is canceled, you’re entitled to an automatic refund. So, for domestic flights, that’s a delay of more than three hours. For international flights, a delay of more than six hours.”
According to the DOT website passengers using US or foreign airlines can request a refund if they are not offered or reject alternative transportation and travel credits, vouchers or other compensation.
The automatic refunds must be provided within seven business days for flights paid for using a credit card and within 20 calendar days for other forms of payment.
Tong said the AGs will hold airlines to the delay times, whatever the cause.
“I think what got decided was it was too hard to, and too complicated to come up with a rule that accounted for all the vagaries of weather and scheduling. So basically, we’re just holding their feet to the fire. You know, if you sell a flight, staff are properly delivering your product or pay the customer back,” he said.
The new protections also mean that airlines must disclose all additional fees upfront when someone is booking a flight. Currently there are different fees for every air carrier making it confusing for customers to know the true cost of their travel and flight, he said.
Blumenthal said protections against hidden fees was important as the summer flying season approaches.
“People are going to be getting into airplanes. They’ll be charged more if they want to sit next to their families. They’ll be charged more if they want to check an extra piece of baggage. Nickel and dime junk fees have to be stopped,” he said.
Blumenthal also said the law on penalties and fines levied to airlines has to be increased from the current $25,000 cap per incident. That represents less than the cost of doing business for airlines, he said.
He said he believed US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wants to impose higher fines and penalties moving forward.
“There’s no incentive for him to enforce those rules when the airlines pay just a pittance in penalties if they break the law, and so the present federal regime of penalties works against effective enforcement,” Blumenthal said. “I want to lift the cap so that penalties are unlimited.”
He also advocated for giving individuals the right to sue, which he said they do not have.
Blumenthal, who is the co-chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said, he has written to all of the airlines and intends to question them on a variety of matters, like junk fees.
“We’ve asked them to provide data as to what portion of their total revenue these junk fees constitute, how much money they’re making from charges on baggage and all the other fees that they’re imposing. We want to know from them whether these kinds of fees are even relevant. I mean, you put a bag on a plane. That’s no extra cost to the airline. Why should you be charged for it?”
And on the weather issue, Blumenthal added, “Most weather events are predictable in some measure. Now, we may not know exactly how many inches of snow or what the wind gusts may be, but they know if really bad weather is coming, that’s going to force the cancellation. They can plan and inform people so they can make alternative plans.”
Complaints can be submitted at www.dir.ct.gov/ag/complaint/
