On Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called upon the nation’s largest passenger airlines to enhance travel benefits for active-duty military personnel and their families.
Starting in May, the department plans to unveil comparative information regarding the travel benefits offered by airlines to service members and their families through a customer service dashboard.
The USDOT intends to outline airlines that are committed to providing full refunds to service members and their families in case of travel plan cancellations due to military directives, along with provisions for complimentary baggage allowances.
While most carriers already offer military personnel additional free bags and perks like priority boarding or discounted fares, there remains a lack of consistency in detailing these benefits in carriers’ public-facing Customer Service Plans. This results in many service members being unaware of the benefits available to them, Buttigieg pointed out. Additionally, the existing travel benefits often do not adequately address the needs of service members who may need to alter personal travel plans due to military directives.
Major airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines have not yet commented on Buttigieg’s call for improved travel benefits. Queries were either left unanswered or referred to the trade group Airlines for America, which also did not respond immediately.
This move follows previous actions by the Transportation Department to promote transparency and passenger protections in the airline industry. Previously, a government dashboard highlighted airline commitments to seat families together without additional charges. In September 2022, most major airlines agreed to ensure passengers receive meals and accommodations for significant delays within their control, following the USDOT’s announcement of a dashboard comparing customer protections.
President Joe Biden announced in May 2023 that the USDOT is developing new rules aimed at compelling airlines to provide cash compensation to passengers for substantial flight delays or cancellations caused by the carriers. While a formal proposal has not been released yet, the USDOT sought input from carriers in 2022 on whether they would agree to compensate passengers with at least $100 for delays of three hours or more caused by the airlines themselves.
