Congress Set to Take on Airline Fees in Two Bills
Joe Cortez March 11, 2016
FAIR Fees Act and FAA Reauthorization Act introduced into the United States Senate on the same day take aim at regulating airline fees.
Two senate bill introduced by four senators are set to take on the many fees flyers face regularly, offering both caps on maximum fees and automatic refunds for services not received. Both pieces of legislation were introduced on March 9, 2016, with the goal of reducing travelers’ costs and improving their in-flight experience.
The Forbid Airlines from Imposing Ridiculous (FAIR) Fees Act of 2016 was introduced by senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). The four-page legislation aims to regulate the customary fees flyers often face. The bill targets three fees: carrier-imposed fees for changing a confirmed itinerary, checked baggage fees found on both the legacy and low-cost carriers and other fees “imposed by an air carrier relating to a flight in interstate air transportation.” In a statement, Markey announced the bill is intended to prevent airlines from “overcharging captive passengers” for their flights.
“There is no justification for charging consumers a $200 fee to resell a $150 ticket that was canceled well in advance,” Markey said in a statement. “The FAIR Fees Act puts a stop to this fee gouging and will help ensure passengers are flying the fair and friendly skies.”
The bill was introduced in the Senate on the same day the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2016 was introduced by senators John Thune (R-S.D.) alongside four co-sponsoring senators. Under the bill, airlines would be required to provide families information about available seats together when booking a flight, as well as standardizing how and when fees are announced. In addition, airlines would be obligated to refund flyers for services not received, including mishandled seat assignments and delayed checked luggage.
The FAA Reauthorization Act has met opposition from airline industry trade group Airlines for America. In a statement, the trade group called for the Senate to “instead support provisions that will help provide a rational tax and regulatory framework that will benefit all stakeholders of the aviation system.” The group did not respond to the FAIR Fees act.
The bills are the latest attempt by Congress to consider airline fees. Earlier in 2016, the AIRR Act was introduced with multiple provisions installed to improve the flying experience.
[Photo: Senator Richard Blumenthal, who is backing the FAIR Fees Act, via Federal Times]
FAIR Act? Lol. Sounds just like Patriot Act, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Affordable Care Act. It is probably going to be anything but "fair."
I certainly agree with starflyer: the refund for services not rendered should not even be a question.
Assuming the change fee legislation is worded properly "changed way in advanced" I assume a cut-off date would be introduced. If you change the ticket 30 days out, then there's no fee followed by an increasing fee structure as departure date gets closer. Something like that would be more fair I would say. The same way airlines hedge against fuel costs and over booking where they do get hit with penalties for screwing up, I believe they should be penalized for publishing overly cheap fares to "hook" a buyer who may not use it and need to change it, incurring significant fees. As for baggage fees, I feel that's a US specialty. Flying within Europe on Lufthansa, BA, KLM, Air Berlin and even Germanwings, I never paid to check the first bag in. It helps speed up boarding as well as the attendants enforce the 1 bag policy very strictly. None of this crap where people haul in bags and not having the space to store them because they want to avoid fee. I say charge those people a higher fee!
The US cartels will be very angry if this legislations passes; don't they pay their lobbyists good money (from passengers fees) to make sure that stuff like this doesn't happen?
In addition, airlines would be obligated to refund flyers for services not received, including mishandled seat assignments and delayed checked luggage. Well I certainly agree with this.