Since the 2024 US DOT automatic-refund rule (14 CFR Part 260), US airlines must automatically refund you — in your original form of payment, not a voucher — when a flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you don’t accept the alternative, when a checked bag is significantly delayed, or when a paid service isn’t provided. If they haven’t, send this.
[Your name / address / email / phone]
[Date]
[Airline] — Customer Relations / Refunds
Re: Automatic refund demand under DOT rule 14 CFR Part 260
Flight [number] — [origin] to [destination] — [date] — Conf [____]
Dear Sir or Madam,
My flight [number] on [date] was [cancelled / significantly changed]. The
change met DOT's "significant change" definition because [departure or
arrival moved by 3+ hours (domestic) / 6+ hours (international) / the
airport changed / connections were added / I was downgraded]. I did not
accept the alternative offered.
Under 14 CFR Part 260, I am owed an automatic refund of $[amount] to my
ORIGINAL form of payment (not a travel voucher or credit). DOT requires
prompt refunds — within 7 business days for credit-card purchases or
20 calendar days for other payment methods.
[If applicable: I am also owed a refund of $[bag fee] because my checked
bag was not delivered within [12 hours (domestic) / 15 or 30 hours
(international)], and $[amount] for [paid Wi-Fi / seat / service] that was
not provided.]
Please issue $[amount] to my original payment method within the required
timeframe.
Yours faithfully,
[Signature / printed name]
What counts as a “significant change” (any one): departure or arrival time moved 3+ hours domestic / 6+ hours international; a different departure or arrival airport; added connections; a downgrade; or (for disabled passengers) a less-accessible aircraft or different connecting airports.
Checked-bag-fee refund is triggered if the bag isn’t delivered within 12 hours (domestic), 15 hours (international with a ≤12-hour segment), or 30 hours (international with a >12-hour segment).
Cash, not credit — and you shouldn’t have to ask. The refund is supposed to be automatic. If the airline only offered a voucher or made you “request” it, that doesn’t meet the rule. The US has no EU-style delay compensation, though — a refund (plus any meals/hotel under the airline’s commitments) is the remedy. See US passenger rights.