Travelers whose luggage does not arrive on time could have the fees for these items reimbursed by the airlines at the suggestion of the Biden administration.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is finalizing the proposal and expects to release the full details in the coming days. according to the Associated Press. The regulation should come into force next summer.
A department spokesman told AP that the plan would require a refund of all charges for baggage that does not arrive within 12 hours of a plane landing on domestic flights and 25 hours on international flights.
Current regulations require airlines to only issue refunds if one bag is lost, although some airlines have their own refund policy. The DOT proposal would dictate this.
A DOT spokesman said the proposal was one of many planned by the White House to give consumers more power. It also plans mandatory refunds for paid Wi-Fi services if the airline fails to provide them during a flight.
Travel justice now, an airline consumer organization, endorses the plan. Executive Director Kurt Ebenhoch called it “one consumer-friendly item in a long list that requires DOT action”.
Ebenhoch said his group is also pushing for refunds for pandemic-related cancellations, stricter rules on family seating and restoring travelers’ rights.
“There are plenty of opportunities for the new government to rebalance, prioritize consumers, and balance the balance between stakeholders,” the group says.
A DOT official told CNN that several other proposals were in the works, including a rule requiring airlines to notify consumers of all baggage, change and cancellation fees before selling a ticket.
“This disclosure would prevent families from being hit by hidden airline charges and would allow families to more easily compare flight options so they could get the best tickets available,” the official told CNN.
Complaints to the DOT about airlines have skyrocketed over the past year. More than 100,000 complaints were filed in 2020. That is a six-fold increase compared to 2019. More than 87 percent of that concerned fees.
According to the DOT, baggage, change and cancellation fees totaled more than $ 8 billion in 2019.
John Breyault, Vice President of the National Consumer League, is encouraged by the suggestions and early efforts of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. But his organization wants to see results, and at a faster pace.
“Evidence will fall by the wayside as to whether this DOT will give consumer protection a real priority after four years in the best-case scenario of benign neglect and worst-case scenario, active regulatory sabotage,” Breyault told AP.
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