Topic

Travel refunds

How U.S. airline refunds work when the airline cancels a flight, and when it moves an itinerary far enough that the trip on offer is no longer the one you booked.

Both situations here begin with a decision the airline made about a flight you had already paid for, and which guide you need depends on which decision it was. If the airline cancelled the flight and did not carry you at all, start with Cancelled flight refund. If the airline still intends to fly you but has moved the times, the airports, the cabin or the connections, start with Significant schedule change. Either way, check the confirmation email for who actually charged you: a refund normally comes back through whoever processed the payment, so a ticket bought from an online agency starts there rather than with the airline.

The mistake that loses both is answering the offer before you have said what you want. Airlines usually offer an alternative — a rebooking, a voucher, a travel credit, a fee waiver — before they offer money, and carriers often treat acceptance of one as the end of the refund request. Whether accepting actually gives up a right depends on the fare rules, the contract of carriage and the facts. So ask for the refund in writing before you accept anything. Many change notices also set a date after which the airline treats the new itinerary as accepted. That is the carrier's own process date rather than a legal cut-off, so let it govern how quickly you reply, not whether you reply. The notice itself gives the specific date and terms.