“Passengers who owe money to airlines have the right to get their money back without the headache or haggling,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release about the new refund rules.
This rule provides that airlines may Companies are required to automatically refund passengers in full.
Another rule aims to eliminate so-called “surprise junk fees.”
“Airlines should be competing with each other to secure passenger business, not competing to see who can charge the most surprise fares,” Buttigieg said.
This will require airlines to clearly, conspicuously and accurately describe and describe all additional charges when presenting fares on web platforms or offline.
This junk fare transparency rule eliminates “discount bait and switch”, the practice of offering discounts that appear to apply to the entire ticket price but actually apply to only a portion of the price. Also includes clauses.
The White House’s announcement Wednesday comes in the wake of multiple airline accidents involving Boeing plane failures, which have led to regulatory investigations and major airlines including Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines to We are being forced to reevaluate our business outlook.
Buttigieg said last week that the White House would work with state attorneys to speed up responses to customer complaints against airlines and ticket agents. State attorneys receive numerous reports of customer complaints, but technically only the federal government has the power to enforce passenger protections.
In addition to the final rule announced Wednesday, the White House also bans additional seat fees for parents who want to sit next to their children, mandates certain amenities, expands facilities for passengers who use wheelchairs, and more. It also proposes rules.
The new aviation rules are the latest action in President Joe Biden’s broader fight against what the White House calls “corporate rip-offs.”
“There are tens of billions of other dollars in junk fees across the economy, and I have directed my administration to reduce or eliminate them,” Biden said in 2022.
The directive was a multifaceted crackdown on hidden fees from various government agencies, targeting a variety of areas including financial products such as banks, cable television, and retirement savings accounts.
