Seat Capacity at Austin's Airport Dips 10% in August, New Federal Rule Ensures Refunds for Flight Delays and Cancellations
Planning your getaway from Austin just got a little trickier, or maybe better, depending on how you look at it; Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is seeing a 10 percent dip in airline seat capacity for August compared to last year, as reported by The Austin Monitor. This comes even though May brought a record high in passengers with seat growth stalled, the airport isn't seeing quite the same level of congestion, with last year's load factor in May only hitting 81 percent—indicating there's still some wiggle room for growth in travel demand.
Flyers feeling the pinch can attribute the seat squeeze to airlines adjusting for the typical August lull when back-to-school season hits, and perhaps not surprisingly, the bite of inflation affecting travel plans for those watching their wallets. But not all is gloom for globetrotters, starting October, under a new federal mandate, you'll be due a full refund for cancellations or serious delays, this could be a game-changer for travel plans, especially as it eliminates the old system of receiving refunds in the often less desirable form of credit or vouchers.
Allegiant, which decided to close its AUS base due to the rising costs at the new South Terminal, is now limited to servicing routes only to other Allegiant bases. While it will maintain 11 destinations, it's dropping six, as Deputy Chief of Air Service Jamy Kazanoff mentioned during the recent Airport Advisory Commission meeting, according to The Austin Monitor. For those looking to travel, Kazanoff suggests utilizing "what we call double coupons"—booking separate connecting flights through other airports.
For those playing the airport stats game, AUS is only down one destination this July over last, and for those inconvenienced by cancellations or lengthy delays, a new Department of Transportation rule will start lining passengers' pockets with refunds instead of credits; an analysis by Upgraded Points found that such refunds would have totaled an estimated $53 million at AUS in 2023, though the airport would have seen an impact on just 2.8 percent of its flights, the changes could influence how airlines price and schedule their flights so passengers might want to keep a closer eye on their bookings and the airlines' fine print as these new rules roll out.
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