Know Your Rights: Flight Cancellation

Stuck at the airport? Stefanie Schaeffer tells you how to get your money back!

So, you made it through your airline security with your laptop, your cell phone, your shoes and hopefully your dignity intact and you’re now comfortably seated in the middle seat of an overbooked flight. When the captain voice comes over the loud speaker, “Folks, it looks like we have a little red light here that just won’t go off.” You guess it. Your flight has been canceled. Now, what? Do you know what your rights are when it comes to the airlines and flight cancellations? I’m Stefanie Schaeffer and this is Know Your Rights T.V. Okay, flight cancellations. Now, if your flight is cancelled and it’s really out of the control of the airline like weather related for instance, you’re pretty much at the mercy of the airlines, but if you’re dealing with the non-refundable ticket, what people don’t really realized is that you’re entitled to your money back. The deal is the airlines are sometimes a little slow in getting you your funds. If you purchased your airline ticket with the credit card as most of us do these days, the fare credit billing act entitles you to file a dispute directly with that credit card company. Now, that will entitle you to file a dispute for services that has been charged but not yet received and that includes travel arrangements. Now, let’s say you show up at the airport and you find out the airlines has gone out of business unfortunately, your ticket is worthless. No other carrier is obligated to help you. Another thing to know about is travel insurance. Costing only five percent of the total costs of your trip, it reimburses you for any of the non-refundable parts of your ruined plans including missed flight connections. It could be well worth it. For more information on knowing your rights, just subscribe to our show. I’m Stefanie Schaeffer and this is Know Your Rights T.V.