Airlines: Give us our money back!

[Consumer Reports]   Dear Friend, With Covid cases falling in the United States, and summer vacation season ramping up, airline travel is booming. Yet as the major airlines pack planes, hike ticket prices, and celebrate the return of big business, they are forgetting one MAJOR detail: the estimated $10 billion in refunds they still owe consumers for flights canceled during the pandemic. And this, after the airlines already received $50 billion in Covid-related taxpayer bailouts! We haven’t forgotten about the money owed to Americans. Nor have a group of Senators, who are echoing Consumer Reports’ call for cash refunds for all tickets canceled during the coronavirus pandemic — and at a minimum, no expiration dates for Covid-related travel vouchers. [Help us jog the airlines’ memory! You can send a message directly to the major U.S. airlines right now demanding refunds. Imagine when tens of thousands of us flood their inboxes. Think they will remember what they owe customers then?]( [Send a Message]( We’re still hearing from countless people who want a refund for their flights affected by Covid. And so is the Department of Transportation. Passengers filed more than 107,000 official complaints since March 2020, and 89% of those are about refunds. But the airline industry, which received as much or more government support than virtually any other industry since the pandemic, is giving many customers the brushoff when it comes to giving their money back. Worse, many of the travel vouchers given out in lieu of a refund are starting to expire. How is that fair? [The best way to get the airlines to respond is to pressure them publicly. You can do that by sending a quick message right now. And after you act, please post on Twitter and Facebook, because the airlines pay attention to social media.]( [Send a Message]( Even if you aren’t owed a refund, we’d love for you to help out, because this is about fairness in the marketplace. And if you have friends and family who had their air travel canceled due to Covid-19 and are still struggling to get it rectified, please share this with them, too. Thanks again, Marcus JonesConsumer Reports [Unsubscribe from Consumer Reports action alerts.]( © 2021 Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY, 10703 [Contact Consumer Reports](