Straight answers.
The 14 questions people actually ask, answered without hedging. Where an answer states a threshold, the regulation it comes from is cited underneath so you can check it.
What you are owed
My flight was cancelled. Am I owed money or a voucher?
A refund of the fare, in cash, back to the way you paid, if you choose not to travel on an alternative. Since 2024 it is automatic and the airline may not require you to take a voucher instead. The cause does not matter, weather included.
How long does a delay have to be before I can get my money back?
Three hours on a domestic itinerary and six internationally, measured on either departure or arrival. Past that the change counts as significant and you can decline the new schedule for a refund. Below it, federal rules provide nothing for the delay itself.
Do US airlines have to pay compensation for a delay, like European ones do?
No, and this is the biggest gap between the two systems. There is no US equivalent of Europe’s fixed delay payments. If you see a figure of 250 to 600 euros quoted for a delayed flight, that is European law being described, not American. What US rules give you is a refund if you decline to travel, not a payment for having been delayed.
I was bumped from an oversold flight. What is that worth?
It depends on your fare and how late you arrive. The rule sets 200% of the fare capped at $1,075 for one to two hours late, and 400% capped at $2,150 beyond that. Nothing if the airline gets you there within an hour. Those caps are ceilings, not typical payments.
The gate agent offered me $400 to give up my seat. Should I take it?
We cannot tell you that, and be wary of anyone who does. What we can tell you is the rule: once you volunteer, the federal minimums stop applying and whatever you agreed is the deal. If you are bumped involuntarily instead, the minimums apply. That asymmetry is exactly why airlines ask for volunteers first.
My bag turned up a day late. Can I get the checked-bag fee back?
Yes. A bag not delivered within 12 hours of a domestic flight landing is significantly delayed and the fee is refundable. Internationally it is 15 or 30 hours depending on the longest non-stop segment. Almost nobody claims this.
The airline lost my bag entirely. Do I get $4,700?
That is a ceiling, not a payment, and the distinction matters. An airline may not cap its liability below $4,700 per passenger on a domestic itinerary, but you have to document what was in the bag and the airline pays depreciated value. International trips fall under the Montreal Convention, which uses a different limit.
How long can they keep me on the tarmac?
Three hours on a domestic flight and four on an international one, after which the airline must give you the chance to get off. Food and drinking water are required no later than two hours in, and lavatories must stay operable throughout.
How Row30 works
What does Row30 actually do?
Two things. We file your complaint through the federal channel airlines are required to answer in writing, and we publish original analysis of federal airline data. We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice.
How long does the airline have to respond?
Thirty days to acknowledge in writing, and sixty days to send a substantive written response, counted from when the airline received the complaint. The rule requires a response, not a particular answer.
Do you take a cut of what I get paid?
No. You pay a flat fee for the filing and keep whatever the airline pays. We also take no money from airlines, which is worth saying because much of the industry commentary you will read does.
Can you guarantee I will get paid?
No, and nobody can. Whether an airline pays depends on the facts, on the rule, and on the airline. Any service promising you an outcome is promising something it cannot know.
Where do your numbers come from?
Federal datasets we pull ourselves: the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the DOT Air Travel Consumer Report, the FAA, the Senate lobbying database and the FEC. Every figure is checked against its stored source row before a page can publish, and if we get one wrong it goes in the public corrections log.
Is this site written by AI?
It is AI-assisted and human-reviewed, and we say so on every article rather than burying it. The pipeline that pulls the data and computes the statistics is conventional software, not a language model. A named human reviews every piece, software is never credited as an author, and we do not generate testimonials, reviews or people who do not exist.
Still stuck?
The passenger rights pages go deeper on each situation, the rule library has the regulations themselves, and the glossary defines the terms that decide outcomes. If none of that answers it, ask us.
Row30 provides data journalism and education, not legal advice. We are not a law firm and do not represent passengers in legal proceedings. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney.