( Reuters) – U.S. airlines are estimated to be sitting on more than $10 billion in travel coupons that should have been money refunds from canceled flights, a group of senators launched on Friday.
FILE PHOTO: Delta Air Lines guest planes are seen parked due to flight decreases made to slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. March 25,2020 REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
Lots of U.S. airlines are cancelling in between 60%and 80%of their flights, and under federal law passengers on those flights are entitled to complete refunds, Senators Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal said in a declaration.
” Nevertheless, lots of airlines have been obfuscating this right by using travel vouchers as the default alternative, needing passengers to take difficult actions to request refunds instead,” they said.
The Democratic senators had asked Alaska Air Group Inc, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airline Companies, JetBlue Airways Corp, Southwest Airlines Co, Spirit Airlines Inc, Sun Nation Airlines, and United Airlines to each offer details on their refund policies throughout the pandemic.
In the airline replies, which were reviewed by Reuters, the majority of did not share the kid