Q: I booked a flight to New York, with three hours to catch a flight from there to Europe. The flight here was so badly delayed I never made the connection in New York. I had to get my luggage, stay overnight at a hotel and rebook. What claims can I make?
J.F., San Clemente
A: Airline delays happen, for a variety of reasons. The good news is the U.S. Department of Transportation recently enacted some new laws: You are entitled to an automatic refund for delay of at least three hours for a domestic flight, and six hours for an international flight. If you take the delayed flight, however, you do not get your money back. Airlines have a maximum of seven days to issue a refund to your credit card, or 20 days for other forms of payment.
As to the incidental expenses, like the hotel: Make a demand. You may be able to negotiate that, if the airlines did not already pay for the hotel room. I also am hopeful the airline worked with you to rebook so that the inconvenience was mitigated, at least to some extent. Note further that the link at the end of this column might be of use to you.
Q: It has been two full days now and the airline has not found our luggage, or, if they have found it, we’re still without. Can we make a claim? We need our clothes, among other things.
L.J. and L.K., Burbank
A: Research indicates the airlines have sophisticated systems that often can track down misplaced luggage rather quickly (within hours). If your luggage is actually lost, however, you are to complete and submit paperwork to substantiate the loss. For a domestic flight, the liability ceiling is currently $3,900 per passenger. For an international flight, determining the amount is a bit more arcane — $1.288 SDR — which means “special drawing rights,” which is a form of currency surrogate whose value is tied to the exchange rate of the International Monetary Fund.
As to baggage delay, the DOT indicates that part of the liability limit the airline is required to pay includes “reasonable, verifiable and actual incidental expenses” incurred due to the delay. This can include the cost of essential items such as clothing, toiletries and other necessities you may have to purchase while waiting.
DOT cancellation and delay dashboard
The Department of Transportation has a link to provide information about services that U.S. airlines provide to deal with passenger inconvenience when a flight delay or cancellation is within the control of the airline. The link is at transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-cancellation-delay-dashboard.
Ron Sokol has been a practicing attorney for over 40 years, and has also served many times as a judge pro tem, mediator, and arbitrator. It is important to keep in mind that this column presents a summary of the law, and is not to be treated or considered legal advice, let alone a substitute for actual consultation with a qualified professional.