New U.S. Department of Transportation “US DOT” Automatic Refund Rules

In compliance with the new US DOT automatic refund rules, Cathay Pacific will expect all travel agency partners to comply with the following:

Airfare and Ancillary Services Fees Refund Rules:

• From 28 October 2024, a passenger is automatically due a refund if a carrier cancels a flight or if there is a significant change in flight schedule.
• These rules apply to tickets/itineraries to or from the United States with brief or incidental stopover(s) at a foreign point without a break in the journey.
• The refund required is the full price paid for the ticket and any ancillaries (that are not provided), including government-imposed taxes and fees and carrier-imposed fees and surcharges, minus the value of any air transportation already used by the passenger.
• If no alternative transportation or compensation is offered to the passenger in lieu of a refund, a refund must be processed within the relevant timelines, i.e. within seven business days for credit card purchases and within 20 calendar days for purchases by cash, check, or other forms of payment.
  
  

Cancelled Flight or Significant Change:

• A canceled flight is defined as a specific flight number, that was published in a carrier’s Computer Reservation System to operate between a specific origin-destination city pair at the time of the ticket sale, that was not operated.
• A significant change in flight schedule is defined as the following:
  • The passenger is scheduled to depart from the origination airport three hours or more (for domestic itineraries) or six hours or more (for international itineraries) earlier than the original scheduled departure time;
  • The passenger is scheduled to arrive at the destination airport three hours or more (for domestic itineraries) or six hours or more (for international itineraries) after the original scheduled arrival time;
  • The passenger is scheduled to depart from a different origination airport or arrive at a different destination airport;
  • The passenger is scheduled to travel on an itinerary with more connection points than that of the original itinerary;
  • The passenger is downgraded to a lower class of service.
  • The passenger who is an individual with a disability is scheduled to travel through one or more connecting airports different from the original itinerary; or
  • The passenger who is an individual with a disability is scheduled to travel on substitute aircraft on which one or more accessibility features needed by the passenger are unavailable.
     

Passengers with a Disability:

• Refunds are also due to a passenger who is an individual with a disability and to other passengers on the same reservation who choose not to fly when the disabled passenger does not accept a change in the origin, destination, or connection airport.
• When there has been a change in aircraft and/or downgrade in the class of service, a refund is due to the passenger who is an individual with a disability and other passengers on the same reservation who choose not to fly when the passenger with a disability does not have access to a needed accessibility feature(s) on the new aircraft or class of service.
  
  

Checked Baggage Fees:

• Refunds for checked bag fees (including specialty checked bags) are also required if bags are delayed 12 hours or more for a domestic flight, 15 hours for an international flight that is 12 hours or less, and 30 hours for an international flight that is more than 12 hours. For international itineraries that include a domestic segment, the international standard applies.
  
  

What Cathay expects from our Travel Agent Partners:

• Travel agency partners are expected to manage refund requests on behalf of customers on a timely basis in strict accordance with the new rules.
• When customers do not accept flight protection from Cathay Pacific, travel agents need to remind customers that they are entitled to a refund and manage such refund requests on behalf of the customers on a timely basis.
• When a customer is entitled to a refund, travel agents need to submit refund requests (on behalf of the customer) promptly to Cathay Pacific through GDS/BSP or the ARC platform and, once we have made a refund to the travel agent, the agent must process the refund to the customer within the required timeframe.
• As per the rules, the entire refund process must be completed within seven business days for credit card purchases and within 20 calendar days for purchases by cash, check, or other forms of payment.

Please note that the above information is a summary of the new rules and travel agents should review the rules themselves to ensure they understand the impact these rules will have on their business. Cathay Pacific reserves the right to take action against agents who fail to comply with this notice.

For full details of the new rules, please visit: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-II/subchapter-A/part-260