Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
💎 Access the Market Tools Trusted by Thousands of Investors Get Started
US fines British Airways $1.1 million over delayed refunds
Published Jun 01, 2023 02:19PM ET
Updated Jun 01, 2023 10:01PM ET
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: British Airways tail fins are pictured at Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, May 17, 2021. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo/File Photo
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) said on Thursday it is fining British Airways $1.1 million for failing to provide timely refunds to passengers for flights to and from the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since March 2020, USDOT received over 1,200 complaints alleging British Airways failed to provide timely refunds. British Airways, which is owned by IAG (LON:ICAG), denied the allegations.
USDOT said it would credit British Airways $550,000 toward the penalty because the airline in 2020 and 2021 issued more than $40 million in refunds to customers with nonrefundable tickets. USDOT said the fine "establishes a strong deterrent to future similar unlawful practices by British Airways and other carriers."
British Airways said it acted lawfully at all times and offered customers flexibility to rebook travel or claim refunds if flights were canceled.
USDOT said consumers were unable to get through to customer service agents when calling the carrier for several months because British Airways failed to maintain adequate customer service phone lines.
The airline said Thursday that "at the height of the unprecedented pandemic – when we were unfortunately forced to cancel thousands of flights and close some call centers due to government restrictions – our customers experienced slightly longer wait times to reach customer service teams."
USDOT has been fining airlines it says failed to provide timely refunds.
Last month, USDOT fined LATAM Airlines (OTC:LTMAY) Group $1 million after the airline and affiliates over delayed refunds.
USDOT said since March 2020, it received more than 750 complaints alleging LATAM, the biggest carrier in Latin America, failed to provide timely refunds for U.S. flights.
In January, USDOT said it planned to seek higher penalties for airlines violating consumer protection rules, vowing to "deter future misconduct by seeking higher penalties that would not be viewed as simply a cost of doing business."
Related Articles
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.