With 35 million Americans out of work, every dollar counts right now. So when we began hearing from thousands of you that the airlines were refusing to give customers their money back for flights canceled due to coronavirus. After all, the airlines got $50 billion in taxpayer help from Congress — yet they can’t give hardworking people their money back for canceled flights? Ritch and Associates initiated a lobbying campaign to address this. Already our campaign is getting results: A new Senate bill would require the airlines to offer cash refunds to flights impacted due to COVID-19. With more than 90,000 petition signatures and thousands of your stories about getting the runaround from the airlines, the Senator who wrote the bill acted because of ‘a tidal wave of outrage’ from consumers.We won’t stop until everyone who wants and needs a refund gets one.
It’s estimated the airlines are holding on to $10 billion in consumers’ money from canceled flights. Law requires airlines to give refunds when they cancel flights or make significant schedule changes, yet many still aren’t. And airlines are flat out refusing to give refunds to travelers who chose to cancel their plans due to the public health emergency. We understand the airlines are struggling during this crisis. But they got help. Consumers are struggling, too, yet the airlines continue to use our money as their own personal piggy bank!