Hayes v American Airlines
American Airlines Making Up to $8 Million Per Year on Unrefunded Fees
A nationwide class action has been filed against American Airlines on behalf of passengers who made and then canceled flight arrangements between 1998 and the present, but did not receive a refund of "passenger facility charges" or "passenger security service fees." The action alleges that the funds were kept in violation of federal Transportation Security Administration regulations. The action seeks unspecified compensatory damages.
The suit alleges that the airline is keeping millions of dollars in unused ticket surcharges-- known as passenger facility charges and passenger security service fees -- which are meant to be used for capital improvements and security. When a traveler cancels their plans and gets a refund, the fees are normally given back. If passengers don't refund their tickets, the airline allegedly keeps the fees in question, instead of returning them or turning them over to the airport or Transportation Security Administration.
Under current federal legislation, airlines collect "passenger facility charges" of anywhere from $1 to $4.50 as well as "passenger security service fees" of $2.50 on departing flights. The suit was filed on behalf of Julie Hayes, a travel consultant who purchased round-trip tickets between Dallas-Fort Worth and La Guardia in 2002. If just one ticket on each of American's 760,000 flights in 2003 was neither refunded nor used, the airline could be liable for up to $8 million for that year alone.
Passenger security service fees are earmarked for use by the TSA for airport security, while passenger facility charges are to be used for airport improvements or related projects such as the recently completed AirTrain to JFK. Passenger facility charges at all three New York-area airports are $3.
