Back on December 30, 2009 the Department of Transportation published a rule, “Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections” that encompassed what we now know as the three-hour tarmac delay rule. The new DOT rulemaking strengthens that original rule in four ways.
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Overview:
The Consumer Travel Alliance recently conducted an analysis of hidden airline fees and what portion of a typical traveler’s air travel costs might be unknown or undisclosed to the traveler at the time the ticket is purchased.
The analysis focused on four popular flight itineraries taken by millions of travelers each year – New York-Los Angeles, Boston-Washington, Chicago-Miami, and Washington-Orlando – and included just two of the many common fees now charged by airlines: checked baggage and extra legroom.
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Charlie Leocha, the Director of the Consumer Travel Alliance was invited by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to testify about the proposed merger of Continental and United Airlines. Here is his oral statement made before the committee. (more…)
Rules proposed yesterday by the Department of Transportation (DOT) will force airlines to reveal total air travel costs, including airfares, surcharges and fees. Once these fees are made public, travel agents and airfare websites will be able to create ways for travelers to use this information. (more…)
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced proposed rulemakings regarding airfare and fee disclosures, bumping compensation, a 24-hour refund rule and tarmac delay extension to foreign carriers. (more…)
Spirit Airlines’ decision to begin charging passengers for carry-on luggage — and lowering some fares to a penny — has caught the attention of the federal government, as many predicted it would. In part one of our exclusive interview with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, we talk about fees, consumer protection and the future of airline service.
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The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Consumer Travel Alliance (CTA) have written a joint letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate Commerce Committee, the House Transportation Committee and the Senate and House Aviation Subcommittee Chairmen urging them to mandate that airlines release all fee information at the same time that they release airfare information.
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The Senate has passed its version of the FAA Reauthorization Act. It now has to go into conference committee and be reconciled with the House version of the same bill. Consumers have plenty to cheer about in both bills, but the Senate version is far more explicit in terms of consumer protections.
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As with everything in Washington DC, there is time to push hard and a time to wait. The Consumer Travel Alliance is in the push-hard part of an effort to force the airlines to tell travelers all of their fees upfront in the ticketing process.
The Menendez amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Act, being debated today, will mandate that airlines and travel agents disclose the full price of a ticket, including taxes and fees, right up front. (Other governments, including Australia and Europe, already do this.)
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The Consumer Travel Alliance strongly supports the Menendez amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Act. As noted below, this amendment will compel the airlines to be upfront about their various fees. The airlines should present all fees prior to the point where customers have already completed a portion of the purchase process.
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