Airlines love their baggage fees, and collectively, they earn billions from those fees every year. There’s finally good news for customers, though. A new law requires airlines to refund your fee if they lose your luggage, which seems only fair.
The new law is part of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2016. It was signed into law this month and will go into effect within a year. The measure reads:
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue final regulations to require a covered air carrier to promptly provide an automatic refund to a passenger in the amount of any applicable ancillary fees paid if the covered air carrier has charged the passenger an ancillary fee for checked baggage but the covered air carrier fails to deliver the checked baggage to the passenger not later than 6 hours after the arrival of a domestic flight or 12 hours after the arrival of an international flight.
Some airlines already have policies on lost luggage, but they’re usually not great. Delta, for example, will allow you to apply online for a rebate if your bag is delayed more than 12 hours. But as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out, the rebate is a $25 electronic travel voucher, not cash.
The law also requires airlines to refund other fees that aren’t delivered due to a cancelled flight and it requires airlines to disclose and “prominently display” their fees. You can check it out for yourself at the links below.
Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2016 (PDF) | U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation via Consumerist
Photo by Paul Iwancio