Refund rights checker
Cancellation or big schedule change? Find out in seconds whether the DOT rules entitle you to a cash refund.
This applies the federal rule to the facts you give it and shows you the working. It does not predict what an airline will pay, and it is not advice about your situation.
The rule provides a refund of the fare, in cash, to your original form of payment. Since 2024 it is automatic: you do not have to ask, and the airline may not require you to take a voucher instead.
How that follows
- The airline cancelled the flight.
- You did not travel on an alternative.
- No hour threshold applies to a cancellation. The cause does not matter either, weather included.
What this cannot tell you
- The amount is the fare you paid plus any unused fees, which we cannot see.
This is what 14 CFR 260.6 provides. It is not advice about your situation, and not a prediction of what an airline will pay.
The thresholds this tool applies
The same thresholds, laid out to read. Every one is taken from the regulation named below and is what the tool above applies.
- Cancelled flight, you did not travel
- Fare refundable in cash. No hour threshold, and the cause does not matter.
- Domestic itinerary moved
- 3 hours or more counts as a significant change
- International itinerary moved
- 6 hours or more counts as a significant change
- You travelled on the alternative
- The fare is no longer refundable. Unused fees are a separate claim under 14 CFR 260.4.
- Also significant regardless of hours
- A change of airport, an added connection, a cabin downgrade, or loss of an accessibility feature.
“three hours or more for domestic itineraries and six hours or more for international itineraries”
What this tool is not
It is a rule lookup with your numbers in it. It cannot tell you what an airline will actually pay, because that depends on your fare, on facts the airline holds, and on how the airline chooses to respond. Where it shows a dollar figure, that figure is a federal ceiling and is labelled as one.
Row30 is not a law firm. Our standards for every number we publish are on the editorial guidelines page.
Row30 provides data journalism and education, not legal advice. We are not a law firm and do not represent passengers in legal proceedings. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney.