The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) expressed its “deep disappointment” over the Department of Transportation’s final rule relating to airline ticket refunds. As it reads, according to an ASTA statement, merchant of record ticket agents will be responsible to provide consumer refunds regardless of whether they are in possession of the funds from the airline. Despite ASTA's years’ long effort to educate Congress and the DOT, said the statement, “this final rule indicates a complete lack of understanding for how our predominantly small business community sells airline tickets.”

Zane Kerby, CEO of ASTA, said the organization’s primary concern for its members has always been the potential that regulations aimed at protecting consumers could harm the small travel agencies who book air tickets. And that is precisely what happened. Travel agencies sold 40% of airline tickets in 2023, “and the DOT doesn’t understand that in the limited situations where the agency is the merchant of record, payment is immediately passed on to the airline.”

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“We agree with DOT that for far too long, consumers have borne the brunt of airline bad behavior,” said Kerby, but to put the onus of providing that refund on small business merchants of record, he said, “will be catastrophic to this industry.” Merchant of record transactions make up a significant portion of business for many small agencies in the industry, said Kerby, especially those who specialize in group travel.