Frontier Airlines could face federal probe over alleged refusal to refund canceled flights
Colorado’s attorney general requested the U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday to take a look at complaints which Frontier Airlines did not refund the cost of flights canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak and made it just about not possible for people to apply vouchers for various other flights during the pandemic.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Attorney General Phil Weiser mentioned his office had received above hundred complaints from Colorado and twenty nine various other states about the Denver-based low price carrier since March, more than any other company.
People said Frontier refused to issue them your money back when flights were canceled because of the pandemic, which Weiser said violated department regulations that refunds are due also when cancellations are actually due to situations beyond airlines’ control. Individuals that received vouchers for use on succeeding flights after voluntarily canceling the travel plans of theirs have been not able to redeem them. Some were rejected with the airline’s website and were not able to extend the 90-day time limit for using them or even were confined to utilizing the vouchers on just one flight, he wrote. Still other people who sought help with the airline’s customer support line had been put on hold for many hours and were disconnected frequently, he said.
Weiser believed that the Department of Transportation was at the very best place to explore the complaints and said it should issue fines of up to $2,500 a violation when adequate.
Chronic problem? DOT warns airlines? once more? to issue refunds for canceled flights right after getting 25,000 complaints
Businesses can’t be permitted to take advantage of customers during this time and must be held responsible for deceptive and unfair conduct, he stated in a declaration.
Frontier said it has stayed in full compliance with division rules as well as regulations concerning flight changes, refunds and cancellations.
Throughout the pandemic, Frontier Airlines has acted in faith that is great to look after our passengers fairly and compassionately, the business said in a statement.
Complaints about getting refunds from airlines surged this spring. In May, Chao asked airlines to be as flexible and considerate as you can to the needs of passengers who face economic hardship.
In the department’s May environment traveling customer report, probably the most recent offered, Frontier had the third highest fee of overall complaints, trailing Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines. The report counts just complaints from customers which go through the trouble of filing a complaint with the division, not individuals who simply complain to an airline.