Senator Urges Travel Cos. to Help Families Losing Feb. Break

Do you pull your child out of school or cancel the family vacation you had planned?

That's the question some parents are now facing as many school districts across the region, Lindenhurst included, have opted to take back some or all of the scheduled vacation days in February to make up for the instructional time lost due to Hurricane Sandy and the Noreaster.

To give a break to those families who do opt to send their kids to school, United States Senator Chuck Schumer sent letters to airlines and cruise line companies last Wednesday, urging them to set-up programs to reimburse or waive penalty charges for those families which have to cancel their trips because of their school calendars changed.

Schumer told The Daily News:

"We literally got more than 100 calls from people who've been planning these vacations for a long time, and now because of Sandy they have to work or send their kids to school....It's like adding insult to injury. These are not wealthy people. They generally have non-refundable reservations."

According to The Daily News, Delta Airlines quickly responded to Schumer's request, and is letting customers with tickets purchased prior to November 19 and departing from La Guardia, JFK, Newark, White Plains or Newburgh between February 15 and 24, 2013 to reschedule without a change fee.

They also can choose to get a Delta credit for the purchase amount, spokeswoman Leslie Scott explained, telling The News, "It's the right thing to do."

JetBlue also announced in the past week that it would waive its change fee or offer travel credits for customers who purchased tickets to travel to or from New York Metropolitan Airports (JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Newburgh, White Plains) between February 14 and 25, 2013.

These customers can voluntarily rebook their flights (they'll be responsible for the difference in airfare, if any) without incurring a change fee. or they can cancel their trip and receive a travel bank credit by calling 800-JETBLUE (800-538-2583) by December 31, 2012.

Original travel must've been booked on or before Wednesday, November 28, 2012.

Other airlines, including American, reportedly were still reviewing Schumer's request.

Did you have a vacation planned for the February break?

What will you do now? Tell us in the comments section, below.

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