Major airlines urge Trump administration to abandon passenger compensation review

Major U.S. airlines on Tuesday asked the U.S. Transportation Department to abandon a review launched by the Biden administration over whether carriers should be required to pay passengers compensation over flight disruptions. Airlines for America, a trade group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and others, urged the Trump administration to end the review launched in December to take comments on whether airlines in the United States should provide cash to compensate for carrier-caused disruptions like they are required to do in the European Union and Canada. "Airlines do not need further incentive to provide quality service," the group wrote, arguing that USDOT lacks legal authority and that the requirement would drastically boost airlines' costs and hike ticket prices. The IATA representing airlines worldwide separately criticized the idea saying required compensation programs "have become wealth transfer tools that have cost airlines billions of dollars without any meaningful reduction in flight disruptions." Spirit Airlines said the idea is so extreme "it might encourage carriers to re-evaluate when they proceed with flights that should have been further delayed or canceled when potential safety related concerns exist." USDOT in December sought comment on whether airlines should be required to pay $200-$300 for domestic delays of at least three hours, $375-$525 for six-hour delays, and $750-$775 for nine-hour delays. Then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in December that compensation rules for delays "would change the economic incentive in a way that motivates airlines to do more."<br/>