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 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike this week after negotiations with Hollywood studios that began in March failed to result in an agreement.
Will McDonough, founder and CEO of EMG Advisors, joined Cheddar News to discuss Wednesday's trading session after the Federal Reserve raised rates by 0.25% as tighter credit conditions continue to affect small- and medium-sized businesses.
The Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years.
Cheddar News' Courtney Sturgeon reports from the Cboe floor with Alan Knuckman, Chief Market Strategist at Bulls Eye Option, to discuss strategies for options traders ahead of a busy trading week amid earnings, the FOMC meeting, and more.
On Tuesday, the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) kicked off its first strike in 16 years. Cheddar News' field reporter Ashley Mastronardi spoke with some of those picketing writers who said streaming giants need to catch up with the times and offer a higher wage and a bigger cut of residuals.
