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The airline took away an accessibility feature I need. Can I and my travel companions get refunds?

If you lose a needed accessibility feature and say you do not want to continue travel, the airline must give you a full and prompt refund. Anyone in the same reservation who does not want to travel without you also gets a full refund.

What the rule actually says

The federal airline refund rules cover a specific situation. If you are a passenger with a disability and the airline downgrades you so you lose an accessibility feature you need, or reroutes you through a different connecting airport, or moves you to a substitute aircraft that lacks a needed accessibility feature, you have a right to a full and prompt refund if you say you do not want to continue travel.

The rule also protects the people travelling with you. Anyone in the same reservation who does not want to continue travel without you is owed a full and prompt refund too.

“Prompt” has a fixed meaning. For a credit card purchase, the refund must come within 7 business days. For cash, check, debit card or other forms of payment, it must come within 20 calendar days. And the refund must be in the original form of payment, such as the check, credit card, debit card, cash or airline miles you used, unless you agree to a different form that is a cash equivalent.

The situations the rule covers

The rule applies to three specific changes. First, you are downgraded and lose a needed accessibility feature. Second, you are rerouted through a different connecting airport. Third, you are moved to a substitute aircraft that lacks a needed accessibility feature.

In any of those situations, if you are a passenger with a disability and you say you do not want to continue travel, the airline must give you a full and prompt refund. The same applies to anyone in the same reservation who does not want to continue travel without you.

The refund is not a voucher or a credit by default. It must be in the original form of payment — the check, credit card, debit card, cash or airline miles you used — unless you agree to a different form of payment that is a cash equivalent.

And it must be prompt. For a credit card purchase, that means within 7 business days. For cash, check, debit card or other forms of payment, it means within 20 calendar days.

What “prompt” and “original form of payment” mean

These two phrases do most of the work in the rule, so it helps to know exactly what they mean.

Prompt is not vague. If you paid by credit card, the refund must be issued within 7 business days. If you paid by cash, check, debit card or another form of payment, it must be issued within 20 calendar days.

Original form of payment means the refund goes back the way it came. If you paid by check, the refund is by check. If you paid by credit card, it goes back to that card. If you paid cash, it is cash. If you used airline miles, it is airline miles. The one exception is if you agree to a different form of payment that is a cash equivalent.

You do not need to pay anyone to get this refund. When the airline owes it, the rules require the airline to issue it automatically, without you asking.

What to do if the airline does not issue the refund

The rule says the airline must issue the refund automatically when it owes it. If that does not happen, the facts here do not set out a formal procedure for you to follow. What the facts do establish is the standard the airline is required to meet: a full and prompt refund, in the original form of payment, within 7 business days for a credit card purchase or within 20 calendar days for cash, check, debit card or other forms of payment.

You can use those standards to check whether the airline has done what the rule requires. If the refund has not arrived within the relevant period, or has arrived in a different form without your agreement, the airline has not met the standard the rule sets.

The facts here do not describe any escalation route, complaint procedure or enforcement step. They also do not say that paying a service will speed anything up. What they do say is that you do not need to pay anyone to get a refund the airline owes.

When it is worth paying someone

For this kind of refund, the facts point one way: you do not need to pay anyone to get an airline refund. When the airline owes it, the rules require the airline to issue it automatically, without you asking.

That does not mean every situation is simple. The facts here cover the refund rule itself — who is owed a refund, in what situations, in what form, and by when. They do not cover disputes about what happened, reservations that involve more than one airline, or separate questions about injury or loss.

If your situation is only about the refund, the rule and the deadlines above are what matter. If it goes beyond that, the facts here do not tell you whether paying someone is worthwhile. What they do tell you is that the refund itself does not require payment to anyone.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Airline refunds: every guide
• The airline lost my checked bag. Can it cap what it pays me at a low amount?
• I was bumped from an oversold US flight. What compensation is owed, and when must it be paid?
• Can the airline refund me in a different form or keep a processing fee?

Sources

• 14 C.F.R. § 260.6
• 14 C.F.R. § 260.2
• 14 C.F.R. § 260.10