Members of a US Senate subcommittee on Wednesday attacked airline executives over the use expansion of the fee menu charge customers for early boarding, better seats and other perks that used to be part of the fare.
Sen. Richard BlumenthalD-Conn., said he thinks the federal government should review and possibly fine airlines for using what he called junk fees.
Blumenthal, chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said seat fees are a net profit for airlines because they don’t have to create new seats or incur other costs by allowing customers to choose where they sit.
Some senators expressed frustration during Wednesday’s hearing when airline executives could not explain how they determined the amounts of the various fees. They said capricious airline pricing was making it difficult for consumers travel budget.
“We are all prisoners in your planes at some point. You just say, ‘Want to pick a seat? We’re just going to randomly charge you more,’ said Sen. Maggie Hassan, DN.H. “It would be good if you could be transparent about what you are doing and why.”
Fees don’t seem to put anyone off. Americans are flying more than ever.
The Transportation Security Administration reported that it screened nearly 3.1 million passengers at airports across the country on Sunday, and a new one-day record. All 15 of the busiest days in TSA history occurred this year, with airport checkpoint traffic up 5% over 2023.
The directors of the airline companies are on edge to the term “garbage fees” and claim that they are just giving consumers what they want: choices.
“Our customers who prioritize affordability have the option to choose a product with a lower price and thereby avoid paying for additional services they do not want,” Andrew Nocella, the company’s chief commercial officer United Airlineshe said in testimony prepared for the hearing before the council. “But we also have customers who are looking for more services, and they retain the ability to select the services they value, for an incremental fee, such as seats with extra legroom or checked bags.”
Airlines are adding premiums to preferred seats to take advantage of rising demand.
Airline executives have taken offense at accusations that they insult passengers.
“Flying has never been more affordable,” said Steve Johnson, chief strategy officer for American Airlines.
Figures from the Department of Transport show that airline ticket prices have fallen by about one-third since 2000 when inflation is taken into account. However, these figures do not include fees.
The senators said fees should be clearly described during the ticketing process. Executives said their airlines do.
Some members of the subcommittee also criticized the airlines for the way they implement the fees.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., debated Frontier Airlines executives and Spirit Airlineswhich paid employees $26 million in bonuses for spotting shoppers whose carry-on bags were too big to fit under the seat. Passengers were forced to pay a fee — up to $77 on Spirit and $99 on Frontier — to use the overhead bin.
“If people want to know why it’s such a horrible experience to fly, this is the news for them today,” Hawley told airline executives on Wednesday. “Your airlines are paying millions of dollars to your employees to bully people who have already paid!”
Frontier’s chief commercial officer Robert Schroeter and his counterpart at Spirit, Matthew Klein, said making sure people follow the rules is a matter of fairness to all passengers.
When Hawley asked why baggage fees could vary from customer to customer, Schroeter said Frontier had to cover its costs.
“Overall, our job is to generate the most revenue possible so that we can remain profitable as an airline,” he said.
American airlines collected more than 7 billion dollars fees for checked baggage last year, with American Airlines and United Airlines leading the pack. They raised another billion dollars ticket change and cancellation feesalthough that was about one-third of what they collected before the coronavirus pandemic, when the biggest airlines scrapped change fees.
Exact numbers on other types of compensation are hard to come by, but a Senate panel reported last week that United, American, Delta Air LinesFrontier and Spirit collected the total more than $12 billion in seating fees between 2018 and 2023. This includes fees for things like more legroom or an aisle seat at the front of the plane.
Airline taxes have been a frequent target of criticism of the Biden administration, until President Joe Biden.
A Department of Transportation rule that went into effect in October requires airlines to automatic cashback for tickets and fees in case of flight cancellations.
The airline industry is suing to block another regulation requiring more prominent baggage and cancellation fee disclosures. An appeals court blocked that rule, and its fate is uncertain under President-elect Donald Trump. Blumenthal asked the five directors to drop the lawsuit. No one agreed to it.
The airline industry and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg did continued the fight over fees and other regulations, even after the November election.
