The number of people traveling by air in the U.S. continues to rebound following the COVID pandemic. Although fewer people traveled in 2022 compared to 2019, a new report found complaints nearly quadrupled. And that was before the flood of complaints at the end of December when winter weather wreaked havoc on families’ holiday travel.
CALPIRG Education Fund analyzed data and complaints from the U.S. Department of Transportation. They found the top complaint from Jan. - Nov. 2022 was refunds – more specifically, the lack of them.
Refund complaints against travel agents, which mostly consist of third-party booking sites, exploded in 2022. There were 5,433 in the first 11 months of last year compared to just 436 in all of 2019.
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The number of canceled flights in the U.S. in 2022 surpassed 2019. A total of 190,038 flights were canceled last year, and 1.44 million flights were delayed.
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CALPIRG says it’s important to know your rights when things go wrong. According to their report, “If any airline cancels your flight for any reason, you’re entitled by law to a full refund of your ticket price, taxes, baggage fees and other ancillary fees…Airlines must issue the refund within seven business days if you paid by credit card and within 20 days if you paid by cash or check.”
Here are some other steps you can take to avoid headaches when traveling by air.
✈️ Book the first flight of the day. The later you fly, the more chances there are for the airline to fall behind schedule.
✈️ Check the flight’s record. Major airlines are required by law to provide on-time performance on their websites.
✈️ Give yourself a buffer. If you’re attending an event or going on a cruise, travel the day before you actually need to be there.
You can learn more about your rights as a passenger and file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation on their website.
