Question: There was a U.S. Department of Transportation rule as of January 2012 that airlines cannot charge for airfare if you book at least two weeks in advance and cancel within 24 hours. They have to give you a confirmation number, but you don’t have to pay for 24 hours. But Hawaiian Airlines and Delta Airlines are still asking for payment upfront. Do all the airlines know about this new rule?
Answer: Some airlines require payment upfront, while some may just keep your reservation “on hold” until confirmed within 24 hours, but either way, they would all be conforming to the new DOT requirement.
The key element is that they cannot charge or penalize you if you cancel your reservation, made at least a week in advance, within 24 hours of booking.
There may be some confusion because of the wording of the news release issued by the U.S. DOT a year ago that said, “Passengers will be able to hold a reservation without payment, or cancel a booking without penalty, for 24 hours after the reservation is made, if they make the reservation one week or more prior to a flight’s departure date.”
We asked for clarification and, in an email, received this response from Bill Mosley of the DOT’s public affairs office: “Under our rules, airlines must EITHER allow consumers to hold reservations at the quoted fare without payment, OR cancel them without penalty, for at least twenty-four hours after the reservation is made, if the reservation is made one week or more prior to a flight’s departure date.”
Also made part of the airline consumer rules a year ago:
>> Airlines and ticket agents must include all mandatory taxes and fees in published airfares, so that it’s easier to determine the full price of a ticket, and disclose all baggage fees during booking.
>> Passengers must be promptly notified of flight delays of more than 30 minutes as well as of any flight cancellations or diversions.
>> Airlines and ticket agents are “generally” prohibited from increasing the price of a ticket after it is purchased.
For more information, check the DOT’s website on consumer aviation: www.dot.gov/airconsumer.
Punchbowl Burials
Officials with the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl are advising the public that Burial Sections S, V, W, M, N and O will be temporarily closed as workers “remediate the uneven ‘washboard’ effect” that has developed over the past 50-plus years.
The current work, part of the ongoing Millennium Grounds Renovation Project, affects 7,670 grave sites, said Punchbowl spokeswoman Nadine Siak.
As part of the renovation project, grave markers will be moved, cleaned and temporarily stored while grave sites are leveled, soil is tilled to a depth of 8 inches and the areas are replanted with new Bermuda grass tolerant of shade and drought, Siak said.
Work began Jan. 14. One section at a time will be closed.
There is no firm completion date, Siak said, with the timetable dependent on such factors as weather, public holidays and “unexpected operational interruptions.”
“Anyone wishing to place floral tributes at graves in closed sections must be escorted for safety reasons into the construction-renovation area,” she said.
On weekdays people should go to the Administrative Office for assistance. On weekends and holidays the advice is to flag down a security guard patrolling in a golf cart, or a cemetery employee stationed near the burial section being renovated.
Mahalo
To the person who found my credit card in the Longs Pali parking lot in December. After I realized it was missing, I immediately returned to Longs and was able to retrieve my card after you had turned it in. Thank you so much! — L. Chun
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
