FIRST ON FOX: Airlines could be barred from offering “bonuses” to employees or incentives related to extra airline benefits, and “discriminatory” pricing could be banned under a new bill introduced on Tuesday by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
Hawley’s bill, called the End Airline Extortion Act, would prohibit airlines from providing incentives, bonuses or other payments to employees, contractors or agents for charging passengers extra fees for services such as baggage, seat selection or other optional amenities as a condition of boarding an airplane. flight.
“Airlines treat their customers like cattle,” Hawley said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It’s insulting.”
JOSH HAWLEY has slammed airline executives for giving Americans a ‘terrible’ flying experience
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta/File)
The legislation also seeks to eliminate “discrimination” in fare prices or additional compensation based on protected characteristics, including disability status and familial status, as well as other characteristics covered by existing federal aviation anti-discrimination laws. Airlines would still be allowed to offer free or reduced fares for minors.
“They charge flyers different prices for the same flights, and sometimes different prices for bags and carry-ons,” Hawley said. “Now they pay bounties to their employees to harass customers who want to get on planes. It’s wrong. And honestly, it should be illegal.”
TOPSHOT – A DHL Boeing 747 freighter arriving from Cincinnati lands at JFK International Airport in New York on February 7, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images) (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
The bill comes after Hawley last week questioned airline executives, arguing that their service was a “disaster” for the American people.
During the day a Senate The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations questioned senior executives from American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines about their companies’ increases in customer reimbursements.
“I mean, you guys do realize that flying with your airlines is a disaster, right?” said the senator. “I’m a little surprised at the general attitude of all of you here. Flying with your airlines is horrible. It’s a horrible experience. I mean, I say this as a father of three young children, but I can’t tell you… no one enjoys flying with your airlines. It’s a disaster.”
Senator Josh Hawley (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital/File)
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After the hearing, subcommittee chairman Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters that the outrage against the airlines is bipartisan.
“The anger and frustration on both sides of the aisle has been quite dramatic,” he said.
Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
