Airline service has been notoriously poor this year. Labor and supply issues have created a spike in flight cancellations and delays, and longer TSA security lines. It’s not a pretty picture for travelers. However, the Department of Transportation has just released a new Airline Customer Service Dashboard that clearly explains U.S. airlines’ delay and cancellation policies.
The new dashboard looks at what 10 airlines are promising their customers in terms of rebooking, meals, hotel accommodations, and ground transportation in the event of cancellations and delays within the airline’s control. Those circumstances include crew shortages, maintenance problems, and baggage and aircraft-cleaning issues, among other things.
The dashboard makes it easy to know what airlines offer and to compare carriers. For example, without having to scroll through pages of airlines’ service plans online, it’s easy to see that only half of U.S. airlines promise to rebook passengers on another airline at no additional cost in the case of a major delay or cancellation. Also, did you know that most airlines say they’ll provide travelers with a meal or meal/cash voucher for delays of more than three hours? The only airline that doesn’t offer this accommodation is Allegiant Air.
Below the easy-to-read chart of airlines’ service promises, DOT also provides links to each airline’s customer-service plan, and reminds travelers of this important fact: “If an airline cancels a passenger’s flight or makes a significant change in the flight, regardless of the reason, airlines are required to provide a prompt refund to a ticketed passenger, including those with non-refundable tickets, should the passenger choose not to accept the alternative offered, such as rebooking on another flight.”
The site also has a link directly to the DOT’s “Air Travel Service Complaint or Comment Form,” where passengers can register any problems related to “flight delays and cancellations, overbooking, disability, tarmac delays, baggage, discrimination, refunds, ticketing practices, family seating, frequent-flyer programs, charter flights, privacy, and air-ambulance service.”
The airlines covered in the Airline Customer Service Dashboard are Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United.
