Alabama's Morning News with JT
Ryan Schmelz says the Transportation Department requires full refunds for cancelled flights
brian schmels joins us now our fox correspondent in d c ryan we're having a massive heat wave down here in a lot of the country's rule hot how is it in d c today where you going uh... it's gotten better i will tell you the uh... uh... previous weekend was absolutely awful i mean it was ten o'clock at night and you'd be walking into another is awful yeah i don't like walking on all things like you're in a sauna like oh my gosh close the door i didn't go over steam bath you know we're going to a hundred again today and i remember living in d_c_ and you know in outside in fairfax virginia for a number of years and uh... you know that area the country's right on the border of you know sometimes we get snow sometimes you don't sometimes it gets to a hundred here sometimes it doesn't i mean there were some times in d_c_ in virginia uh... it was just as hot as it was here in the south so yeah careful yep ozone alerts here today president biden uh... is uh... you know team it up in getting ready with all of his buddies for the debate coming up thursday i thought we'd get your thoughts on that right out of the gate trump as well uh... and then we'll talk about what's going on with our refunds at the canceled flight department but uh... what are you hearing around your comrades there in inside d_c_ inside the bellway there on how this thing may go thursday i think some of the the republican advice we've gotten for donald trump is for him to stay focused on the issues and not get distracted and and and and kind of all just you know hammer the issues like border like inflation the ones that they feel are winning issues for for president trump and i'll go down any traps that may get him off but uh... you know take him off his game or or get him you know talking about things that that are going to matter to the american people are going to be appealing to independent that at least some of the republican device i've heard from what they want to see trump doing they think will help him win uh... the debate on thursday and i think one thing we're also kind of hearing is uh... this idea of you know trying not to uh... set the bar too low for president by and i think there is this thought amongst republican circles that if you just you know make this assumption that president by is going to get up on that stage and just melt immediately uh... you know you you're giving him a good opportunity to exceed expectation that i think they kind of point to the uh... state of the union address as a good example of that yeah i agree with you there can't set that bar too low in trump you got to avoid the triggers because he'll respond it's just who he is but hopefully you know he'll hold it together and yeah i'm with you there uh... well i'm looking forward to it must watch t_v_ i can't believe they're starting so late ten o'clock eastern this thing gets underway little sleepy time for joe then but uh... we're going to be carrying it all the preliminary starts at eight o'clock here on our radio station nine o'clock central for us when the debate starts on thursday alright starting today i kind of like this transportation department are requiring some uh... cash refunds for canceled flights so if people are on the way to the airport this is something they can keep an eye on right yeah absolutely so uh... that now if you are to be on a flight and it gets canceled or delayed uh... you're supposed to be entitled to a full refund what constitute as a significant delay would be uh... three hours for a domestic flight and then six hours for an international flight there's also some other provisions in there and it's a really quite expensive list j_p_ uh... to the point where it goes down as far as to say you know if you were to book an aisle seat or or window seat and then they give you a uh... middle seat then you're entitled to the refund for the speed that you paid to uh... upgrade your seat now uh... there's quite a uh... a substantial amount of of refunds at the airline's are now supposed to be uh... entitled are supposed to be giving you if in fact you you run into these problems all right well you mentioned it's got to be a three-hour delay so if in fact let's say uh... somebody's flying from it landed to miami and they've got to get on a plane that will put them in miami that's uh... about an hour away from a meeting they're supposed to have and it's that tight and if they have a delay of an hour it messes up the whole travel so it's that doesn't count you know you've got it have at least a three hour delay uh... that's what it sounds like yeah like a one or two hour delay is not going to constitute as a significant delay but yeah if it's substantial goes past that three-hour mark and you know your flight was supposed to leave at ten o'clock uh... it's now leaving at at two p_m_ or it's leaving at three p_m_ you know you're going to be entitled for a uh... but of refund if it's a domestic flight you know i think the other include the tarmac rule to if you have to sit on that plane on the tarmac for more than an hour i mean i don't know if you've ever been caught in one of those situations where they sit out there or yeah yeah pull me back to the gate let me off the plane and then we'll re we can't do that so just sit tight be quiet but that's how i get walk off right but i'll take my chances dodging planes coming down the runway all right right thank you so much i appreciate you ryan schmells in d_c_ and keep that in mind if you go into the airport today you may be able to get a refund things go squirley for you