Flight cancelled or significantly changed: what to do

Have this ready

• confirmation number
• ticket number
• original and new itinerary
• notices from the airline

Steps for any company

1. Decide whether to accept rebooking or ask for a refund. Accepting travel can change your refund rights.

2. If you want money back, ask for a refund to the original form of payment, not a travel credit.

3. Ask for meals or hotel if the cause was within the airline's control.

4. If the airline does not pay, file a complaint with the U.S. DOT and dispute the charge with your card issuer.

A company playbook below replaces these generic steps with the company’s own forms, phone numbers and deadlines.

Company playbooks (13)

Airlines

• Alaska AirlinesRefuse the rebooking and any voucher if you want money back; Alaska then refunds to the original form of payment.
• Allegiant AirDecline the rebooking and any voucher to get a full refund, including taxes and ancillary fees, to the original form of payment.
• American AirlinesDecline rebooking to get a full refund of fare, taxes and fees; submit one refund request per ticket number.
• Breeze AirwaysCancel only the unflown segments for a refund to the original form of payment; taking the delayed or rebooked flight ends the refund right.
• Delta Air LinesDecline the automatic rebooking if you want money back, then request a refund to the original form of payment.
• Frontier AirlinesDo not take the rebooked flight or a travel credit if you want money back; request a refund to the original form of payment.
• JetBlue AirwaysCancel the affected flight before departure to get a refund to the original form of payment, including seat and bag fees.
• Southwest AirlinesDecline the rebooking and do not hold the value as a Flight Credit if you want money back; request a refund to the original form of payment.
• Spirit AirlinesSpirit stopped flying on May 2, 2026. Card purchases made through Spirit are refunded automatically; travel agency bookings go back through the agency.
• United AirlinesDecline the alternate flight and the travel credit if you want money back; request a refund to the original form of payment.

Online travel agencies

• Booking.comThe airline's contract of carriage decides refunds; Booking.com may help change or cancel.
• ExpediaThe airline's rules decide the refund; ask Expedia to process it, and the airline directly if Expedia cannot see the refund.
• PricelineAsk Priceline for the refund owed when the airline cancels; Express Deals and Cancellation Coverage have their own limits.

Guides

• Airlines — how complaints work
• Online travel agencies — how complaints work