Officials from America’s five largest airlines will be grilled Wednesday on Capitol Hill over those outrageous surcharges that often cause passengers to pay far more than the base price of a plane ticket.
A Senate subcommittee will hear testimony from leaders of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines on the increase in fees paid by customers – fees that now extend far beyond checked bags to other “extras” such as seat selection or, on certain restricted tickets , bringing a full-sized bag on board.
The hearing comes after a scathing report released last month by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which criticized billions of dollars in surcharges deducted by airlines in recent years, “hiding the full cost of travel” and making it more expensive. It is difficult, the report said, for customers to compare shop.
“Our investigation has revealed new information about airlines exploiting passengers at high prices,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and chairman of the subcommittee, in a statement on November 26. “I will ask the airlines to excuse these practices.”
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The trade group of the major US airlines said the organization was “deeply disappointed” by the report, which it said showed a lack of understanding of the airline industry.
“Today, America’s airlines offer more options and better services while ticket prices, including revenue, are at historic lows,” Airlines for America said in a statement to TPG this week.
As part of the yearlong investigation, lawmakers found American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines generated $12.4 billion in revenue from seat fees between 2018 and 2023. those carriers to the US Department of Transportation at that draft time.
The report scrutinized Frontier and Spirit, the nation’s largest low-cost carriers, for incentive-based programs that allegedly pay gate agents millions of dollars in commissions when customers pay for bags or other related charges at the airport.
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It also asked Congress to mandate that airlines provide clear information on how much revenue they receive from “extra” costs; today, airlines report gross bag revenue to the government but do not face the same disclosure requirements for the growing amount of other passive income they draw on.
Airlines began increasing checked bag fees in the late 2000s amid rising fuel prices and the subsequent Great Recession. Since then, the cost of checked bags has increased steadily, and the cost of adding passengers has been passed on to other aspects of air travel amid the growth of budget airlines and the arrival of low-cost basic economy fares on the major carriers.
Most recently, 2024 saw the major US carriers increase the cost of bags in a matter of weeks – a strong period that also upset the November report, in line with a historical pattern that often sees the largest airlines where competitors go. raise fund money.
For its part, Airlines for America argues that many airlines offer optional services and costs to cater to the growing number of people who fly, today, which has allowed almost 90% of Americans to board a commercial flight at some point in their lives.
“That’s because Americans have the power to choose to pay for the help they want and forgo the help they don’t,” the agency said.
Wednesday’s hearing before the Senate subcommittee is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Washington, DC It is not clear what, if any, action may result from the hearing or the recently concluded investigation, as the 118th Congress will end later this month and the Biden Administration is expected to leave office in January.
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