Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar told Cheddar on Tuesday that Americans need cash from canceled flights to provide immediate relief, but airline executives have not responded to the call.
In a letter to 11 major airlines, nine Democratic senators, including Klobuchar, wrote "we believe your company has a moral responsibility to provide real refunds, not travel vouchers, to consumers, and to support State Department efforts to repatriate any American citizens trying to come home."
"We're waiting to hear back from them," Sen. Klobuchar said. "Obviously many of them have canceled fees and other things. Or they have proposed to give customers the ability to use it to buy another ticket in the future."
But with Congressional help, those senators think money should go back into the pockets of customers.
Klobuchar said "we think it is much more important to get the cash to the customer knowing that they're going to fly again when this is over" than to provide credits for travelers.
Last week, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that includes $25 billion in cash grants and $25 billion in loans to the airlines.
Her Democratic colleague Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter "the airline industry got $25 billion to keep workers on payroll — but they're not the only ones hurting for money right now."
American Airlines said in a response that the "comprehensive travel waivers we've put in place are designed to meet the full range of our customers' needs."
The SAG-AFTRA National Board over the weekend voted unanimously to express solidarity with the Writers Guild of America and its plans to go on strike amid ongoing negotiations with studios and streamers.
Lila Snyder, CEO of Bose, joins Cheddar News anchor Hena Doba to discuss her journey to the top of the corporate world, the business of selling top of the line speakers, and how new technologies such as machine learning are shaking up the industry.
Stocks drifted ahead of reports that could offer clues on questions that have kept Wall Street at a standstill, including on where the economy and corporate profits are heading.
Aidan McClean, co-founder and CEO of UFODRIVE, joined Cheddar News to discuss how his company plans to shake up the car rental market with a digital experience. "There are no lines, there are no paperwork, there is no key collection ... no pushy insurance or pushy fuel options," he said. "You simply arrive for your electric car, use your smartphone and drive away."
Nearly half of Americans report having to side hustle to make ends meet, according to a survey from LendingTree. Jane Oates, president of WorkingNation, joined Cheddar News to discuss the state of play as families are having a difficult time with inflation and high-interest rates.
