Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he has been left “speechless” after multiple major airlines filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s Department of Transportation over new rules requiring airlines to be upfront and transparent with customers about travel fees.
On social media platform X on Tuesday, Mr. Buttigieg wrote: “We just issued a rule requiring airlines to inform you, before you buy a ticket, of fees they will charge you. Now, the airline lobby is suing us, saying that if you have the right to that information it will ‘confuse’ you. For once, I am speechless.”
Under the rules, airlines, and ticket agents will be required to tell consumers upfront if there are any fees to be paid for a first or second checked bag, or a carry-on bag.
Airlines and ticket agents must also inform customers upfront if they will have to spend extra to cancel or change their reservations.
Airlines must let consumers know that seats are guaranteed and that they do not need to spend more money to secure one.
‘Bait-and-Switch Tactics’
The new rules will end what the department called “bait-and-switch tactics,” advertising a promotional discount off a low base fare that does not include all of the extra carrier-imposed fees.Under a second regulation announced by the White House, airlines will be also required to “automatically” refund passengers in cash in a prompt manner when their flights are canceled or significantly delayed instead of customers having to request a refund themselves.
The new rules are set to be rolled out within six months to two years, officials said.
At the time of issuing the updated rules, the Transportation Department said they would likely help customers save over $500 million annually, which they are currently overpaying in hidden airline fees.
“Airlines should compete with one another to secure passengers’ business—not to see who can charge the most in surprise fees,” Mr. Buttigieg said at the time.
The Transportation Secretary added that the rules would also ensure airlines are being held accountable for being transparent with their customers.
However, the new rules prompted backlash from the lobbying group Airlines for America, alongside American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, and Alaska Airlines, all of whom filed a lawsuit against the Transportation Department in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on May 10.
‘Bad Solution in Search of a Problem’
In their lawsuit, the airlines branded the new rules “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and otherwise contrary to law” adding that they were a “bad solution in search of a problem.”They further argued the department’s rule would confuse consumers and that its “attempt to regulate private business operations in a thriving marketplace is beyond its authority.”
Separately, an Airlines for America spokesperson told The Epoch Times that “U.S. airlines care deeply about the customer purchasing experience from first search to final purchase and invest heavily in their websites and mobile apps to ensure both transparency of all costs and ease of use for each customer with a purchase path tailored to that customer’s specific choices.”
However, the spokesperson added the new ancillary fee rule by the Department of Transportation “will greatly confuse consumers who will be inundated with information that will only serve to complicate the buying process.”
The airline group further argued that companies already disclose all fees related to air travel upfront before customers pay for their tickets.
U.S. airlines garnered nearly $6.8 billion in baggage fees in 2022 and $5.5 billion in the first nine months of 2023.
“Many air travelers will be disappointed to learn that the airline lobby is suing to stop these common-sense protections,” a spokesperson said.
