Democrats Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal said the airlines
trade group had "refused to offer any commitment to expand cash
refund policies or eliminate expiration dates for
pandemic-related flight credits."
The lawmakers said the airlines "continue to sit on more than
$10 billion in unused flight credits and are still refusing to
return consumers' hard-earned money, more than a year after the
pandemic began."
Without removing expiration dates, "your company may be
encouraging travelers to fly before they feel safe boarding a
plane, lest they lose tickets that they have already purchased,"
they added.
On Friday, trade group Airlines for America representing
American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest
Airlines and others told the senators in a letter that major
U.S. airlines issued $12.84 billion in cash refunds to customers
in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic upended the travel industry.
The group declined further comment Monday.
Airlines have faced criticism over their handling of redemptions
for flights canceled during the pandemic.
In the letter, reviewed by Reuters, Nicholas Calio, the group's
chief executive, said U.S. airlines had maintained a steadfast
commitment to the traveling public during the pandemic and
issued refunds in accordance with all federal laws and
regulations.
The cash refunds, which accounted for about 20% of airline
revenues last year, came on top of billions of dollars of travel
credits that are now being used "at a rapid clip" to book fresh
flights, he said.
The redemption of vouchers currently accounted for 10% to 15% of
carriers' monthly ticket sales and was expected to increase in
coming months as the pandemic winds down, Calio added.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Tracy Rucinski, Editing by
Rosalba O'Brien and Richard Pullin)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|