Just as Canada ensures that airlines think more for passengers' welfare in terms of compensation, some change might soon happen within the US too. When prompted by the US Transportation Department (DOT), several significant US airlines said they would provide meals for customers delayed by three hours and hotel rooms for stranded passengers if issues under the airlines' control prompted them.

The likes of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and others have updated their customer service policy, prompted by the DOT, which included detailed commitments to ensuring improved passenger welfare. Some airlines had previously offered vouchers or hotel rooms for delays they were responsible for, but never made clear their obligations in customer service plans.

Providing the bare minimum

On August 19th, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hinted that he would publish an "interactive dashboard" by Friday ahead of the busy Labor Day holiday travel weekend. The new publication allows passengers to compare the services each large US airline provided when the cancellation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control.

Buttigieg has also written airline chief executives asking them to ensure the provision of meal vouchers for delays of three hours or more and lodging for those who must wait overnight because of disruptions within the carrier’s control. Previously, some passengers had to know when and where to ask for food vouchers or airline hotel accommodations and weren't always given these privileges even after asking.

Airlines are stepping up

And if the gentle prompt wasn't strong enough, Buttigieg also emphasized that DOT is still contemplating options to publish new rules that would further expand the rights of airline passengers within the US. In response, some airlines included in their updated customer service plans that if they cannot find a hotel room, they would provide a voucher or reimburse stranded passengers any costs incurred if the passengers found a reasonably priced room on their own.

Other airlines have also provided similar responses, with Southwest Airlines updating that if meal vouchers are unavailable for passengers during a three-hour delay under its control, then the airline would honor reasonable requests for reimbursement. However, the airline didn't specify what it defined as valid. JetBlue and United Airlines also mentioned giving meal vouchers for a reasonable meal cost at airport food vendors, though JetBlue provides a value of $12.

Passengers have been suffering

Why the sudden production of updated airline policies? Simply put, airline passengers have been experiencing one too many unpleasant experiences with airlines, and DOT is looking to erase the unpleasantness. The chaos within the global aviation industry has resulted in inevitable flight cancelations and delays in mass numbers which have affected an even larger group of passengers.

Unfortunately, not only do passengers' travel itineraries get disrupted unexpectedly, but they can be subjected to additional hassles, such as a rebooked flight that is either several hours or even days away. There's also the issue of airlines mishandling passengers' baggage or personal mobility aid devices. Making such unpleasant experiences worse for passengers is when they are barely compensated or have to wait extended periods for the airlines to pay them back.

With the updates to existing customer service policies, passengers are rejoicing but are also suggesting that Buttigieg and DOT can prompt for more. While the policy updates differ slightly from those within the Canadian aviation industry, it's likely that down the road, DOT might also start prompting airlines to improve on their monetary compensation and refunding process.