Do you know your rights?
8 questions. Most people get about half, and the ones they miss are usually the two where money is owed and nobody mentions it. Each answer cites the regulation it comes from, so you can check us.
This is a quiz, not an eligibility check. If something has already gone wrong on a flight, the refund checker is the tool you want.
The eight rules, and where each one comes from
The same answers, laid out to read rather than to play. Every threshold below is quoted or closely tracks the regulation named beside it.
1Your flight is cancelled and you decide not to travel. What is the airline required to give you?
A cash refund to your original payment method
A cash refund, back to the way you paid. Since 2024 it is automatic, so you do not have to ask, and the airline may not require you to take a voucher instead. It applies whatever caused the cancellation, weather included.
Most people get this wrong by assuming that a voucher is an acceptable substitute, or that weather voids the refund.
14 CFR 260.6Your rights when a flight is cancelled2How long does a domestic flight delay have to be before you can refuse the new schedule and take a refund?
Three hours
Three hours on a domestic itinerary, measured on either departure or arrival. Internationally it is six. Cross that line and the change counts as "significant", which is what unlocks the refund.
Most people get this wrong by assuming that the DOT’s 15-minute definition of "late" means something is owed at 15 minutes.
14 CFR 260.2Your rights after a long delay3Your domestic flight arrives four hours late, but you flew on it. What compensation do federal rules give you for the delay itself?
Nothing. US rules provide no payment for delay itself
Nothing. This is the biggest gap between US and European rules: there is no American equivalent of EC 261’s fixed delay payments. If you fly on the delayed flight, federal rules give you no compensation for the delay. The refund right only exists if you decline to travel.
Most people get this wrong by assuming that EU-style delay compensation exists in the US. The $250 to $600 figures come from European law.
14 CFR Part 260Your rights after a long delay4You are involuntarily denied boarding on an oversold domestic flight and reach your destination more than two hours late. What is the maximum compensation the rule sets?
$2,150
The rule sets 400% of your one-way fare, capped at $2,150, for a delay of more than two hours. Between one and two hours it is 200% of the fare capped at $1,075. Both are ceilings calculated from your fare, so a cheap ticket means a smaller payment.
Most people get this wrong by assuming that $2,150 is what you get, rather than the most you could get.
14 CFR 250.5Your rights when you are bumped5The gate agent asks for volunteers to give up their seat and offers you $400. If you accept, what are you entitled to?
Whatever you agreed to, and nothing more
Whatever you negotiated. The federal minimums in 14 CFR 250.5 apply to involuntary denied boarding only. The moment you volunteer, the rule’s floor no longer protects you, which is exactly why airlines ask for volunteers before bumping anyone.
Most people get this wrong by assuming that volunteering and being bumped are treated the same way.
14 CFR Part 250Your rights when you are bumped6Your checked bag does not turn up until the next day after a domestic flight. What happens to the fee you paid to check it?
It is refundable once the bag is more than 12 hours late
Refundable. A checked bag not delivered within 12 hours of a domestic flight arriving is "significantly delayed", and the fee comes back. Internationally the threshold is 15 or 30 hours depending on the longest non-stop segment. Almost nobody claims this.
Most people get this wrong by assuming that a bag arriving late but arriving means no money back.
14 CFR 260.2 and 260.5Your rights when a bag goes missing7You are stuck on the tarmac on a domestic flight. When must the airline give you the chance to get off?
Before three hours
Before three hours on a domestic flight, and before four hours on an international one. Separately, food and drinking water are required no later than two hours into the delay, and lavatories must stay operable throughout.
Most people get this wrong by assuming that there is no hard limit and it is entirely up to the crew.
14 CFR 259.4When the rules changed8An airline loses your bag on a domestic flight. What is the most it can limit its liability to?
$4,700
An airline may not cap its liability below $4,700 per passenger on a domestic itinerary. That is a ceiling on what you can claim for provable loss, not a payout: you have to document what was in the bag, and the airline pays depreciated value. International trips fall under the Montreal Convention instead.
Most people get this wrong by assuming that $4,700 is a payment for a lost bag rather than a liability limit.
14 CFR 254.4Your rights when a bag goes missing
What we do with the answers
We count which questions people get wrong, in aggregate, because how badly understood a rule is tells us which rules need explaining. Your individual answers are not tied to you and nothing here is required to use the quiz.
If we ever publish a figure from it, we will publish it honestly: everyone who takes this quiz found a passenger-rights website first, so the group is self-selected and not representative of the flying public. A figure from this quiz can only ever say what quiz-takers knew, with the number of them stated. It can never say what Americans know. Our standards for that kind of claim are on the editorial guidelines page.
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.