Seattle basketball coach stuck in Las Vegas celebrates new airline regulations

SEATTLE — From cash refunds for canceled and delayed flights to better access to customer service agents, President Joe Biden has signed a package of legislation partly inspired by the Seattle basketball teams’ incredible trip home.

During the 2022 holiday break, Rainier Beach High School basketball coach Mike Bethea and his wife were stuck in Las Vegas caring for 30 teenagers.

“My wife and I focused on making the children as comfortable as possible. With the airlines, the approach was pretty much day-by-day: you’re on your own and you do what you have to do. We were basically on our own,” Bethea said.

Stories of stranded travelers emerged across the country as airlines experienced a cascade of flight cancellations spanning several days. Now, almost a year and a half later, lawmakers are touting new protections for travelers to make sure such a scene doesn’t happen again.

“I think airlines are just going to have to realize that consumers – you can’t just lure them in forever with bad policies – consumers have some rights here,” said U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington).

Cantwell advocated for bipartisan efforts to increase consumer protections when traveling by airlines.
The act was signed by the president on May 16.

Airlines will soon have to offer hassle-free refunds if a domestic flight is delayed by more than three hours. Airlines will not be able to charge for shared family seats and must improve communication with customers who plan to travel south.

“Well, I think the market has been distorted by some of these tactics where the airlines basically had too much power over the consumer, so they will charge families to sit together, and they will basically hold you hostage after flight has been canceled – good communication is essential and I think in this case consumers deserve a refund after a significant delay,” Cantwell said.

For coach Bethea, this is the official end of the holiday season, which neither he nor his players will ever forget.

“They missed Christmas, but we made the best of it,” he said.

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