The jig is up for US airlines and their decades-long practice of catching travelers off guard with surprise hidden fees.
Travel :
Yes, airlines are hopping mad after President Biden took action recently to end the cash cow of hidden fees. Their anger over the loss of free money (from dishonest practices) prompted several airline companies to file a lawsuit in the hopes of stopping Mr. Biden from ending their flow of fake funds stolen from unsuspecting passengers.
According to Reuters, the lobbying group Airlines for America joined forces with American, Delta, United, JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian, and Alaska Airlines and collectively filed suit last week against the US Department of Transportation in the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana (Southwest was not part of the lawsuit).
Back in April, the USDOT began requiring US airlines and ticket agents to disclose their services upfront and honestly place all fees alongside the airfare — where it could be easily read to help consumers avoid unneeded or unexpected fees.
However, the airlines cried foul and claimed Monday that the new rule would only confuse consumers. They also called the rule “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and otherwise contrary to law,” barked that the USDOT was acting “beyond its authority,” and added that the rule change was an unnecessary “attempt to regulate private business operations in a thriving marketplace.”
Over the past several years, airlines have restructured their booking systems to ‘nickel and dime’ passengers out of every cent they could get. They created a new travel class below economy (and rebranded the existing economy class as “new” despite nothing being new at all) just so they could charge passengers for features they previously received for free. They also started charging fees for seat assignments, for families to sit together (so that parents wouldn’t be separated from their kids), and the ever-changing baggage fees — which is now $35-45 for just 1 bag.
Interestingly, rising baggage fees were the straw that broke the camel’s back and is what prompted the USDOT to address a rule change. The department criticized the practice of higher fees to check bags if travelers did not pay in advance or waited until the time of the flight. More specifically, they called it “unfair” when information regarding higher fees was frequently not made clear to passengers until they were already at the airport for their flight and it was too late to take advantage of a lower fee.
USDOT said in its rule change that fees for baggage or flight changes “must be individually disclosed the first time that fare and schedule information is provided on the airline’s online platform, and cannot be displayed through a hyperlink.”
They also said the rule would end “bait-and-switch tactics some airlines use to disguise the true cost of discounted flights” (looking at you, Spirit Airlines).
For example, USDOT said it’s time to end the out-of-control practice of advertising promotional discounts off a “low base fare that does not include all mandatory carrier-imposed fees.” Or, in other words, no more $59 fares from NY to LA that actually cost $300 once you factor in a seat, bags, and other services airlines strategically (but secretly) make a la carte.
As expected, almost all of the major US airlines are fighting back and calling the rule “a bad solution in search of a problem.” After all, they want to continue price gauging their passengers and making as much money from every possible source. However, unless the lawsuit is successful (which is doubtful), US passengers will soon become travel winners.
The USDOT reported that US airlines collected nearly $6.8 billion in baggage fees alone in 2022, and $5.5 billion in just the first 9 months of 2023.
According to President Biden and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, enough is enough!
“We will vigorously defend our rule protecting people from hidden junk fees and ensuring travelers can see the full price of a flight before they purchase a ticket. Many air travelers will be disappointed to learn that the airline lobby is suing to stop these common-sense protections,” they said in a statement.
OK WASSUP! discusses Travel News:
US Airlines sue the USDOT over hidden travel fees.
