ASTA Believes Trump’s DOT Offers New Chance to Fight Ticket Refund Rule

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) has spent the better part of this year fighting the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s new rule on air ticket refunds to no avail. With the incoming Trump administration, advocates may have a better shot at making change happen. 

Jessica Klement, ASTA’s VP of advocacy, told TMR that new DOT leadership presents an opportunity to “come out strong in the beginning of the year with the ticket refund issue.” 

“I think we have a strong small business argument to be made to the incoming administration,” she said. “It’s how you approach it really.”   

“We don’t have that opportunity with the sitting administration that came up with the rule in the first place,” she added, noting that the current DOT under Secretary Pete Buttigieg had two chances to amend the rule and did not. 

It is expected that, with his re-election, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) will be chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which could help ASTA as the organization has a relationship with that staff.  

In addition, Congresswoman Maria Salazar (R-Fl.) won her re-election bid by a wide margin. She is one of the sponsors of Flight Refund Fairness Act (H.R. 9552), which would not require travel advisors who are the merchant of record for a cancelled or significantly delayed airline ticket to refund their clients until they receive the refund from the airline.   

Under the current DOT rule, the “merchant of record” – which in many cases is the travel advisor – must refund consumers for cancelled or significantly delayed flights within seven days. It did not originally mandate airlines to refund travel advisors but was recently updated to ensure that the airlines refund advisors “promptly” but with no clear timeline.   

“We appreciate the Biden administration and Buttigieg who took a strong stance on consumers,” Klement said, “but it seems that the needs and the unique business models of travel agencies were ignored when they were very focused on the consumer side.” 

“We now have an opportunity to explain to people who may not have heard the travel advisor argument before.”