US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged the CEOs of the top 10 largest US airlines to enhance travel benefits for active-duty military personnel and their families.

National Military Appreciation Month

Buttigieg penned a letter urging American Airlines to enhance military travel benefits, emphasizing the profound dedication of service members and their families in defending the nation. As the nation prepares to commemorate the 25th anniversary of National Military Appreciation Month, Buttigieg highlights the importance of honoring, recognizing, and supporting their sacrifices for the country's freedom.

There are approximately 1.3 million active-duty US military personnel and around 800,000 reservists. Most carriers offer military personnel perks such as additional complimentary bags, priority boarding, or reduced fares.

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The Launching of Support Our Troops Dashboard

Buttigieg emphasized that benefits are often not clearly stated in airlines' publicly available Customer Service Plans, making many service members unaware of them. He also pointed out that airlines' travel benefits may not fully meet the needs of service members who may have to change or cancel personal travel plans due to military directives.

Major carriers such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines did not provide immediate comments or refer inquiries to the trade group Airlines for America, which also did not respond immediately.

The Transportation Department had previously launched a "Support Our Troops" dashboard to facilitate enhancements in military travel benefits provided by airlines. This dashboard will offer service members and their families straightforward, comparative information on the travel benefits offered by major US carriers, showcasing airline commitments to not charge families for sitting together. In September 2022, nearly all major airlines agreed to provide passengers with meals and overnight stays for significant delays within their control after the USDOT initially announced a dashboard comparing customer protections.

In May 2023, President Joe Biden announced that the USDOT is drafting new regulations to mandate airlines to provide cash compensation to passengers for substantial flight delays or cancellations caused by the carriers.

The USDOT has not yet issued a formal proposal or specified the exact amount of cash it intends to mandate airlines to pay passengers for significant delays. However, in 2022, it inquired with carriers whether they would be willing to commit to providing a minimum of $100 for delays lasting at least three hours due to airline-related issues.

The dashboard is scheduled to be featured on the Department of Aviation Consumer Protection website starting in May of this year. It will showcase airline commitments to service members and their families in their Customer Service Plans. These commitments include offering full refunds to service members and their families who cancel travel plans due to military directives and allowances for free baggage. Additionally, the Department's website will provide direct links to airlines' Customer Service Plans.

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