Finance
With Hurricane Helene disrupting travel, here’s what fliers need to know
Men inspect the damage from flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina.
Sean Rayford | Getty Images News | Getty Images
As the Southeast U.S. recovers in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s destruction, consumers looking to change their air travel plans to or from affected areas without taking a financial hit may be out of luck, experts said.
“The big-picture issue that happens in U.S. air travel: When there is a significant disruption, air passengers have very, very limited rights” when it comes to compensation, said Eric Napoli, chief legal officer at AirHelp, an online service that assists airline passengers.
‘Catastrophic damage’
The North Carolina Department of Transportation urged people to avoid unnecessary travel in the western part of the state due to hundreds of road closures from downed trees, landslides and “catastrophic damage.”
What airlines owe passengers
Amid that destruction, travelers hoping to change flights for free or cancel their plans for a refund may find airlines unwilling to grant that financially flexibility.
Airlines do generally owe “prompt” refunds to passengers if they cancel or make a “significant change” to a flight, regardless of the reason, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. That’s true even for consumers with non-refundable tickets.
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However, weather-related events like Hurricane Helene are generally considered to be outside an airline’s control, meaning passengers have relatively few rights to compensation, experts said.
The airline’s duty in such cases generally depends on a passenger’s specific fare, such as economy or business class, Napoli said.
“There’s nothing [airlines] will do for you” if your conference was canceled and you don’t have a ticket that grants free cancellation or comes without fees for changes, he said.
Airlines make concessions in some cases
Damage to a store in Valdosta, Georgia, from Hurricane Helene.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Some airlines are making concessions tied to Hurricane Helene, though they vary by carrier and geography.
“All the rules are different,” said Sally French, a travel expert at NerdWallet.
Many major U.S. carriers have dedicated webpages for travel alerts outlining their policies around specific events, she said.
For example, American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines have alerts about flooding in the Southeast. Many focus on areas around Asheville, North Carolina, and some parts of Georgia like the city of Valdosta.
United is waiving change fees and fare differences for passengers whose flight was affected by flooding and who choose to reschedule their flight, for example.
United’s policy comes with parameters: Passengers must have purchased their ticket before Sept. 26, for travel between Sept. 30 and Oct. 31, 2024; the new flight must be a United flight leaving by the end of 2024 and between the same cities as originally booked. Those who cancel can get a full refund.
American Airlines is also giving leeway to passengers scheduled to travel through Augusta, Georgia, between Sept. 29 and Oct. 4. They must book changes by Oct. 4.
Delta passengers scheduled to fly through Asheville or Valdosta must travel on rebooked flights by Oct. 18 to avoid paying a fare difference. Change fees would still be waived past that date, however.
Read the specifics of insurance policies
Travel insurance isn’t always a fail-safe in the event consumers can’t get reimbursed from the travel provider for a flight, hotel or other travel expenses, experts said.
If you didn’t purchase a cancel-for-any-reason policy, your trip problems typically have to fall under specific, covered reasons. Plus, policies bought after Helene became a named storm generally won’t cover claims related to it.
“Make sure you read the fine print and what the insurance is actually covering,” Napoli said.
Consumers who purchased their trip with a credit card may get certain travel reimbursement benefits from their card issuer, sometimes even in the case of severe weather, French said. Credit-card companies generally require a “quick turnaround” on a claim, often within 21 days, she said.
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Tens of millions of private-sector workers lack access to a retirement savings plan through their employer, which experts at the AARP Public Policy Institute warn could pose a significant burden to future taxpayers.
The institute estimates that 57 million private sector workers in the U.S. – about half of the workforce – are not offered either a traditional pension or a retirement savings plan through their employer, a problem that has persisted for decades, according to David John, senior strategic policy adviser at AARP.
In April, an AARP survey showed that 20% of adults at least 50 years old had no retirement savings, and more than half were worried they would not have enough money to support them in retirement.
John said that individuals in their 50s or early 60s who are facing retirement without enough savings are in the midst of a crisis.
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For society as a whole, he said, “It’s not a crisis right now, but it’s pretty inevitable that it will be.”
“It’s a really significant problem, and it’s one that’s going to affect all of us, because if we’re not the ones with the small retirement savings to supplement Social Security, we’re going to be the ones who are paying the taxes to help the people who didn’t have that opportunity,” John said.
An AARP survey showed that 20% of adults at least 50 years old had no retirement savings. (Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
If many people lack adequate retirement savings, they will likely require more forms of public assistance – from nonprofit organizations or government programs. This could include support for health care needs, housing or other essential services.
To help, more than a dozen states have already set up or are in the process of implementing state-facilitated retirement savings plans for small businesses, according to John.
Small businesses are more likely not to provide retirement savings benefits to employees compared to larger corporations. Pew Charity Trusts cited Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that 57% of private-sector firms with fewer than 100 workers offered a retirement benefit plan as of 2023. However, 86% of companies with at least 100 workers and about 91% of firms with at least 500 workers did.
For small businesses, their main focus is often on staying afloat, leaving little time or resources to handle such tasks. But these state programs, such as CalSavers, California’s retirement savings program for workers who do not have a way to save for retirement at work, are a way to help that does not have any cost to a small business.
More than a dozen states have already set up or are in the process of implementing state-facilitated retirement savings plans for small businesses. (iStock / iStock)
Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate, told FOX Business that the bigger issue is that most workers don’t recognize that they can still contribute to a retirement account independently, without relying on their employer.
“Something lost on consumers is that lack of access to a retirement savings plan through your employer doesn’t mean that you can’t save for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis,” McBride said.
If someone or their spouse with whom they jointly file taxes with has an earned income, they are eligible to contribute to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), which provides tax advantages for retirement savings.
It’s estimated that 57 million private sector workers in the U.S. are not offered either a traditional pension or a retirement savings plan through their employer. (iStock / iStock)
According to the IRS, there are several types of IRAs available, including a traditional IRA, a tax-advantaged personal savings plan where contributions may be tax-deductible, and a Roth IRA, a tax-advantaged personal savings plan where contributions are not deductible but qualified distributions may be tax-free.
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While McBride said the “lack of employee-sponsored retirement savings isn’t a barrier to saving for retirement,” he did acknowledge that it is harder. There is no employee match and there are lower contribution limits for IRAs compared to workplace-based plans, according to McBride.
Still, he doesn’t believe enough workers are taking advantage of these accounts.
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