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."
William Shatner and LifeWave CEO David Schmidt share lessons from his “world’s oldest intern” experience and offer advice for young professionals starting out.
The Live Nation ruling is in. Diana Moss of the Progressive Policy Institute joins us to unpack what it means for competition, consumers, and live music.
Madison Air CEO Jill Wyant on taking a century-old HVAC giant public and what the IPO means for the industry, investors, and the future of the company.
Global Gaming League's founder Clinton Sparks and chairman Jeff Hoffman on their mission to bridge competitive eSports with mainstream celebrity culture.
AEVEX CEO Roger Wells joins to discuss the company's IPO and what it means for the future of autonomous defense systems in an era of rapid military innovation.
What does AI actually mean for the US economy? Andrew Husby of BNP Paribas breaks down the macro signals, risks, and opportunities hiding in plain sight.