DOT REFUND RULES

Illustration of an Aer Lingus representative offering a voucher to a frustrated customer checking his watch, with the caption “One year later…”

Aer Lingus issued her voucher but ghosted her husband for over a year

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After a death in the family, Beatrijs Albarran and her husband Jorge had to cancel their Aer Lingus flights. The airline issued their refunds as vouchers, $938 for her and $925 for him, and emailed that both had been processed. But when Beatrijs called the next month to book a new trip, an agent told her Jorge’s voucher was never actually issued. The couple, who live in Buffalo, New York, wanted to fly from Toronto to Scotland because the fares are better, and asked whether the vouchers could be reissued in Canadian dollars. Beatrijs received hers in U.S. dollars within a reasonable time. Jorge’s never arrived. For more than a year she called repeatedly, hearing the same response that a supervisor was working on it, while automated emails said the case was under review. More than 15 months after Aer Lingus said it processed the voucher, it still had not appeared. Under Aer Lingus policy, vouchers are issued in the same currency as the original booking, so no conversion was needed to book from a Canadian airport, and the Department of Transportation requires airlines to process refund and credit requests promptly.

Minimalist editorial cartoon of a frustrated couple sitting back-to-back on a single gray suitcase in an airport terminal with their heads bowed, both staring at their smartphones with downcast expressions, surrounded by blurred information board signs in the background, illustrating a Cleveland couple's stressful return trip from Greece after Delta and Sky Express cascading booking errors forced them to pay for a new $435 ticket and recheck their luggage in Athens

An agent error turns a simple return trip into a costly odyssey. Will Delta fix it?

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Robert Kempke and his wife flew from Cleveland to Athens with a return through Thessaloniki on Sky Express, a regional carrier booked through Delta. Their online check-in for the Sky Express flight was blocked because of a 185 euro balance linked to a duplicate third passenger using Kempke’s name. Sky Express refused to fix the error and told them Delta had to correct it. The Delta agent canceled and rebooked the Sky Express segment, which collapsed the entire return itinerary including the Athens to Cleveland flight. The Kempkes paid $435 for a new Aegean Air ticket to Athens, retrieved and rechecked their luggage, and rebooked their U.S. return. Delta initially promised a refund plus 12 euros for seat assignments, then denied the claim. Under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, passengers are entitled to automatic and prompt refunds for flights canceled by the airline. EU Regulation 261/2004 applies to flights within or departing the European Union.

Editorial cartoon illustration of a smiling AI robot with "AI" labeled on its chest holding out a paper voucher in one hand and a colorful striped "Favor" shopping bag in the other, while a frustrated middle-aged man in a blue polo shirt stands with arms crossed next to his black rolling suitcase refusing the offer, illustrating how travel companies use automated systems to push customers into accepting vouchers instead of legally required cash refunds

Why are travel companies replacing real refunds with “coupon justice”?

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Travel companies are increasingly replacing cash refunds with vouchers and goodwill credits when flights cancel, hotel rooms fail, and rental cars run out of vehicles. The practice exploded after the pandemic when companies pivoted to vouchers to hoard cash. The actual redemption rate for travel vouchers is below 10 percent, meaning a 90 percent chance the credit goes unused and the company keeps your money entirely. Under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, airlines must provide prompt refunds to your original form of payment when they cancel flights or make significant schedule changes. Airlines offering only vouchers without a genuine cash option violate these legal obligations. Hotels and online booking sites operate in a legal gray zone with few hard rules governing refund practices.