Regarding the DoT's take on the situation:
tl;dr: airlines/booking sources are only required to provide fare rules at purchase, and "either in the body of the itinerary receipt or an associated link, [the airlines] advise the purchaser of the fare rules associated with the purchase."
Longer story: back on 2 Dec I booked a trip on DL, via the AmEx travel site, for travel on 21 Dec. Didn't look to see if the fare rules were provided (my mistake). On 17 Dec, I look for the fare rules in the receipt I got from DL, with no luck. I sent a request via the customer care link on DL.com for the fare rules with my ticket. The next day, DL gets back with the following:
Originally Posted by DL customer care
Thank you for contacting Delta Air Lines regarding copy of fare rules for your travel.
Currently, I am unable to generate a copy of fare rules. However, I have forwarded a copy of your eTicket receipt in a separate email. Please review the information for accuracy at your earliest convenience. If you have questions about your receipt or itinerary, please feel free to call our Reservations agents toll-free at (800) 221-1212. They will be happy to assist you.
Mr. Sanders, thank you again for giving us an opportunity to respond to your concern. I appreciate your Silver Medallion loyalty to Delta and look forward to the privilege of serving you again soon.
I replied asking why they were unable to give me the fare rules. Response on 20 Dec:
Originally Posted by DL customer care
Thank you for your email to Delta Air Lines inquiring to provide a copy of the fare rules for your upcoming travel to Bozeman.
To clarify, I am unable to generate a copy of fare rules as they are not guaranteed and it changes accordingly.
For further assistance, we recommend you to please contact our Reservation Sales Department at 800-221-1212, 404-765-5000, or the number on the back of your SkyMiles card. A representative will be glad to assist you.
Mr. Sanders, thank you for giving us an opportunity to respond to your concern. We highly appreciate your Silver Medallion loyalty to Delta and look forward to the privilege of serving you soon.
At this point, I file a DoT complaint asking for clarification on the matter:
Originally Posted by cmn.jcs
Description of Problem/Inquiry/Comment:
Sir/Ma'am, is it acceptable for an airline to not provide a copy of the fare rules associated with a ticket?
Of course I'm not going to get the rules before travel--fortunately, I wasn't ever in a situation where I actually needed them, I just wanted them handy. On 23 Dec, I get my acknowledgement from the DoT:
Originally Posted by initial DoT response
This responds to your communication regarding Delta Airlines. The U.S. Department of Transportation seeks to ensure that all airline passengers are treated fairly. Complaints from consumers are helpful to us in determining whether airlines are in compliance with our rules and to track trends or spot areas of concern that warrant further action.
Carriers allow for the review of a fare prior to purchase on their websites. In addition, either in the body of the itinerary receipt or an associated link, they advise the purchaser of the fare rules associated with the purchase. However, I will forward your complaint to the airline and will ask the company to respond directly to you. Airlines are required to acknowledge receipt of a consumer complaint within 30 days and provide a substantive response to the complainant within 60 days. If you have not received a reply within this time frame please let me know. If you need to contact me, please include your name and case number (see above). I will make every effort to reply to your message within one business day.
[regular ending paragraph about adding the complaint to the database, feel free to PM me if you want it]
Finally, today (21 Jan), DL responded to me (looks like they cut it pretty close to the required response time):
We’ve received your message sent to the United States Department of Transportation about your request to receive a copy of the fare rules for your ticket. They have asked us to respond directly to you.
Our ticket and fare rules are not always easy to understand and I’m sorry for the disappointment we’ve caused. To be as transparent as possible, we have a Know the Fares & Fees section on our website. We hope this information will be helpful to you.
We Hear You
I’ve passed your comments directly to the Reservations leadership team, so they can consider your experience when making needed changes to improve our service.
Your loyalty to Delta is greatly appreciated. We will do our best to serve you well on your next flight with us.
Obviously, a pointless response. I then replied to the DoT agent who initially contacted me after my submission of the complaint:
Originally Posted by cmn.jcs
[name removed], thank you for your response. I received a response from Delta today that unfortunately does not answer my original question. I see that airlines are required to provide the fare rules at purchase, as well as also "either in the body of the itinerary receipt or an associated link, [advising] the purchaser of the fare rules associated with the purchase". The ticket service I purchased from, American Express Travel, allows for review at purchase, but does not provide a copy of the fare rules or a link to them in the receipt. Additionally, requesting a receipt from Delta directly does not result in being provided the fare rules or a link to them. Following this, I contacted Delta twice via email, and they refused to provide a copy of the fare rules.
Given this situation, is it acceptable for an airline to not provide a copy of the fare rules upon request?
Thank you for your help.
Their response came in two emails (bolding mine):
Originally Posted by DoT agent
It is the sellers responsibility to provide the information you are requesting. You yourself state you were originally provided the information at time of purchase from American Express Travel and would have had the opportunity to make yourself a copy at that time. Lastly, the rules of a given fare and or fare calculation or combination of fares that encompasses a single ticket or itinerary can be a combination of fares and rules especially when purchased from a ticket agent outside of the carrier. However, most fares all have the basic ingredients and unless they are full fare and unrestricted, they are typically nonrefundable, nontransferable, require penalties for changes, and additional collection to fares when changes are made. Depending on the fare the agency sold you, there may be a minimum/maximum stay, blackout dates, validity period, etc.
To answer your question, given your situation, it’s the sellers responsibility to provide a copy of the fare rules based on your personal purchase. I’m not sure exactly what it is your seeking by review of the fare rules after the fact of your travel. If there was an incident involving your travel we can investigate but would need additional information as well as specific flight details to pursue this matter further.
Originally Posted by DoT agent
I just wanted to follow up:
14 CFR 253.7 of our rules states that a carrier may not impose any terms restricting refunds of the ticket price or imposing monetary penalties on passengers unless the passenger receives conspicuous written notice of the salient features of those terms on or with the ticket. The booking engines on most airline websites allow you to click to see the detailed rules of the fare you have chosen after you have selected a complete itinerary.
There is no rule requiring a carrier to provide a copy of fare rules on request
So there we have it. Not a particularly great situation to be in, and I'm a little surprised at the DoT's response. That said, now that the requirement for getting the fare rules both
at purchase and
linked to in the receipt, it should be a little more clear on what to report to the DoT when DL's IT fails.