More than 250 travel advisors and supplier partners converged this week on Washington, D.C. for ASTA's Legislative Day to lobby for legislation that takes the onus off travel agencies when customers are due an air ticket refund.
A new Department of Transportation rule that will take effect on Oct. 28 requires that the "merchant of record" is responsible for refunding airline passengers if a flight is canceled or significantly changed. Travel agencies are usually not the merchant of record in air sales, but there are times when they are -- when they resell bulk airline seats to a group, for instance.
ASTA wants the DOT to stipulate that advisors are only responsible for refunds when they have the funds from an airline.
"Putting the onus of providing a refund on small-business merchants of record will be catastrophic to this industry," ASTA said.
Three members of Congress -- Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.), Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) and Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) -- have introduced the Flight Refund Fairness Act. If passed, that act would ensure that any small business, as defined by the Small Business Administration, would not have to provide a refund until they are in receipt of the funds from the airline. ASTA said that 98% of travel agencies would be considered small businesses. Large travel agencies want changes to the current rule, as well.
While there was an amendment proposed for travel advisors in the FAA Reauthorization Act, it was not included in the final bill. So, ASTA is lobbying legislators to support the Flight Refund Fairness Act.
ASTA wants a seat at the table
Legislative Day attendees will also ask legislators to support the ACPAC Modernization Act, which calls for a ticket agent's seat to be added to the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee.
While a ticket agent's seat was included in the House and Senate Commerce Committee versions of the FAA Reauthorization Bill, it did not make it into the final legislation, ASTA said.
"With only four committee members, this relatively small committee has great influence over the regulations considered at DOT," ASTA said.
ASTA CEO Zane Kerby said the association this week aims to "raise awareness about the critical role travel advisors play in the broader travel and tourism industry, and to secure support for policies that will help our members and their businesses succeed. Legislative Day is a meaningful way for our members to be at the table, telling their stories."