Sep 25, 2008 9:18 pm US/Eastern
Travelers 'Curious' About Airline Ticket Refunds
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Airline Ticket on Nov. 14, 2007.
CBS
It's a little known fact about airline tickets: the price includes several taxes and fees that go to the government, not the airline.
The question is, if you don't use the ticket, should you get that money back?
That's what Jay Schecter wanted to know when a medical emergency forced him to miss his flight.
"I was not eligible for a refund on the ticket because the ticket was quote 'a non-refundable' ticket," Schecter said.
Schecter's ticket included several government charges including federal taxes that help pay for air traffic control, a passenger facility charge for airport improvements and a post Sept. 11, 2001 security fee. The total was $40 in fees that were not refunded.
"Since I didn't use the services, I don't understand why I should pay for the services," Schecter said.
The reason: it's the law. "It is simply an issue of the tax rules being written in such a way that they are collected upon payment and not refunded with the exception of a fully refundable ticket," says Joakim Karlsson, an aviation expert who teaches at Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire.
But these ticket fees and taxes are very confusing. On the one hand, the
Internal Revenue Service says the taxes and passenger facility charge stay whether you fly or not. But
Homeland Security says the post 9-11 security fee is refundable if you request it.
Bay
State Congressman Richard Neal is on the
House Ways and Means Committee.
"Actually, the law is in conflict to the extent that the IRS has one position and the Division of Homeland Security has another competing position," Neal said.
And that's news to some airlines. American, Continental, and US Airways said they don't refund taxes and fees because the law doesn't allow it. When told that the security fee is refundable, American and Continental said they can't return money that's already been passed along to the Government. United Airlines says it does refund the 9/11 charge if requested.
The
National Taxpayers Union is now pushing for Congress to clarify this area of the law, "If you don't end up using the services, you're being charged for, why should you pay the taxes?" says Peter Sepp.
Congressman Neal however says it's not that simple, "Security still has to take place. You still need to keep the lights on at the airport regardless of whether or not the passenger shows up."
Still, Neal says the issue leaves consumers up in the air. Congress is expected to review the conflicting policies sometimes this fall.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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