Delayed Flights
However, federal law does not require airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when flights are delayed. So if your trip is delayed and you end up stuck in the airport, any hotel rooms, meal vouchers or other monetary compensation will be given at the discretion of the airline.
So if your flight is delayed by 2 hours, there is no compensation. However, you can make a different claim. For example, if your flight is delayed by two hours or more, your airline must take care of you by offering you support services. These can be very different.
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There are no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed. Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for delayed passengers. If your flight is experiencing a long delay, ask airline staff if they will pay for meals or a hotel room.
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For delays of five or more hours, you can receive compensation for accommodation and transportation in addition to the previous benefits. If your flight is cancelled, you may be eligible for a refund, which you can request here. Delayed flight compensation in the U.S.
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Measuring delays
The standard airline measure is to use 'gate-to-gate' – the times that the aircraft starts and stops moving (however, for the purposes of EU compensation, under EC 261/2004, a court has ruled that the arrival time is when at least one door is open).
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If you contact the airline or ticket agent to obtain a required refund and you are refused that refund, you should file a complaint against the airline or ticket agent with the Department at https://secure.dot.gov/air-travel-complaint.
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You must file this dispute with your card issuer within 60 days after the statement containing the airline charges. It's generally easy to dispute a charge with your bank by logging in to your account online or through the app, if you have it. Make sure you get email confirmation your dispute has been received.
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If you bought your American Airlines ticket directly from us, you can request a refund online or contact Reservations. We'll process your refund back to the original credit card within 7 days (it should appear on your statement in 1-2 billing cycles).
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Tweeting at the airline's customer service team, submitting a request for compensation online or writing a letter the old fashioned way are other options that have met with success…
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According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, you are entitled to compensation for reasonable incidental expenses you incur because of your delayed baggage, up to the maximum liability limits, set by statute. For U.S. domestic flights, this is $3,800 per passenger.
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If you arrive at your destination within 1 hour of your original scheduled arrival time, you will not be compensated. If you arrive at your destination between 1 to 2 hours after your original arrival time, you will be compensated for 200% of your one-way ticket price or a $775 maximum.
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The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) considers a flight to be delayed when it is 15 minutes later than its scheduled time.
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When a flight delay occurs, you are entitled to assistance and a choice between rerouting, reimbursement, or rebooking. If you arrive at your destination more than 3 hours after your scheduled arrival time, you are entitled to the same reimbursement, rerouting, and rebooking structure as a denied boarding.
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There's no official requirement for passengers to receive a refund or reimbursement as a result of a flight delay, though the DOT's delay and cancellation dashboard can help travelers better understand what they're entitled to. DOT has not specifically defined 'significant delay,' the site says.
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The credit maxes out at $200 for delays of six hours or more. Once passengers have boarded the aircraft, the compensation structure is $100 in credit for a delay between three and five hours, $175 in credit for a delay between five and six hours, or a $250 credit for a delay of six hours or more.
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When a flight gets diverted, the airline still must get you to the destination airport (as shown on your ticket) at no extra cost to you. It could be by a bus, train, taxi or another flight. If it was just a leg of your journey, you may also get a new ticket to your destination for the new airport.
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