Secretary Buttigieg Urges U.S. Airlines to Improve Military Travel Benefits

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officers of the 10 largest U.S. airlines urging them to improve military travel benefits provided to active-duty service members and their families. 

The full text of the letter is below: 

[CEO Name] 
[Airline] 
[Address] 

Dear [CEO Name], 

America has the greatest military in the world, thanks to the unwavering commitment of service members who protect this country and the family members who support them. As we approach the 25th anniversary of National Military Appreciation Month, I urge U.S. airlines to improve military travel benefits to honor, recognize, and support service members and their families who sacrifice so much for our freedom. 

The Department appreciates that carriers currently provide active-duty service members and their families various military travel benefits. However, these benefits are not consistently detailed in carriers’ public-facing Customer Service Plans, resulting in many service members being unaware of them. Also, airlines’ travel benefits often do not fully address the needs of service members who may need to cancel or change personal travel plans due to military directives. 

To encourage improvements in military travel benefits offered by airlines and ensure that service members have easy access to this information, the U.S. Department of Transportation is creating a “Support Our Troops” dashboard that provides service members and their families with easy-to-read, comparative information on the travel benefits that each of the large U.S. marketing carriers will guarantee for service members and their families. 

The dashboard will be displayed on the Department’s Aviation Consumer Protection website in May 2024. It will be based on commitments that airlines have made to service members and their families in their Customer Service Plans, such as a full refund to service members and their families who cancel travel plans due to military directives and allowances for free baggage. The Department also intends to provide direct links to airlines’ Customer Service Plans from its website. 

As someone who often flew on military orders as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, I know how important airline benefits and services can be for members of the military and their families. I look forward to working together to ensure that service members and their families have clear and reliable information about the special travel offers and benefits that they deserve, reflecting our gratitude for their service and sacrifice. I have sent similar letters to the other nine largest U.S. marketing carriers. 

Sincerely, 

Pete Buttigieg 

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