Several American airlines have committed to providing meals and hotel rooms for customers delayed by at least three hours due to circumstances that are within the airline’s control, according to the US Department of Transportation (DOT).
American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways and others detailed commitments in customer service plans they updated this week, encouraged by the DOT. It is not uncommon for airlines to offer vouchers or hotel rooms for delays they caused, but many had not explained the commitments in detail until now, Reuters reports.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also confirmed an upcoming interactive website where air travellers can compare US airlines’ compensation offerings.
He also said the DOT was contemplating options to write new rules that would further expand the rights of airline passengers, but did not specify further.
Some airlines updated their customer service plans to specify that, if the airline could not find a hotel room in the case of a cancelled or delayed flight, they would provide a voucher, or reimburse the passenger for a “reasonably-priced” room. An interpretation of “reasonably-priced” was not given.
Southwest Airlines said if meal vouchers were not available for a three-hour airport delay under its control, they would honour reasonable requests for reimbursement.
JetBlue will provide US$12 (R210) meal vouchers and United Airlines will give meal vouchers for the ‘reasonable cost of a meal at airport food vendors’.
