The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) announced its disappointment in the new rules for airlines, which outline when to refund travelers for delays and how to disclose fees properly.?

¡°The Department of Transportation made a profound error in this final rule,¡± ASTA President and CEO Zane Kerby said. ¡°Our primary concern for our members has always been the potential that regulations aimed at protecting consumers could harm the small travel agencies who book air tickets.¡±

¡°And that is precisely what happened,¡± Kerby continued. ¡°Travel agencies sold 40 percent of airline tickets in 2023, and the DOT doesn¡¯t understand that in the limited situations where the agency is the merchant of record, payment is immediately passed on to the airline.¡±?

The updated regulations were approved by United States President Joe Biden and the Department of Transportation (DOT) and now require American carriers to provide ¡°automatic cash refunds¡± within days of a flight being delayed significantly or outright canceled.

Carriers and ticket agents must be transparent about charges for checked and carry-on bags and canceling or changing a reservation. On airline websites, all fees must be listed when travelers see the price and schedule. The DOT estimates the new rules will save American travelers more than $500 million annually.

In response, the ASTA revealed that merchant of record ticket agents will be responsible for providing consumer refunds regardless of whether they have the airline¡¯s funds.

Despite years of effort to educate members of Congress and the DOT, this final rule indicates a complete lack of understanding of how the ASTA¡¯s predominantly small-business community sells airline tickets.

Kerby released an extended statement on the DOT¡¯s decision below:

¡°We agree with DOT that for far too long, consumers have borne the brunt of airline bad behavior. Fortunately, those who use a travel advisor know they have someone in their corner working tirelessly to obtain their refund when travel plans go south. But to put the onus of providing that refund on small business merchants of record will be catastrophic to this industry. Merchant of record transactions make up a significant portion of business for many small agencies in our industry, especially those who specialize in group travel."

¡°This is a clear case of a federal agency overcorrecting a problem. Now more than ever, we urge leaders in the House and Senate to maintain Section 710 of the House bill to reauthorize the FAA [H.R. 3935] which ensures ticket agents ¨C nearly 80 percent of whom are female small business owners ¨C are not responsible for providing airline refunds when they are not in possession of the funds.¡±

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