WASHINGTON – Airlines would have to improve disclosure of fees for services such as checked bags, carry-on items and advance-seat assignment under a consumer-protection rule the Transportation Department proposed Wednesday.
“Knowledge is power, and our latest proposal helps ensure consumers have clear and accurate information when choosing among air transportation options,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.
The long-awaited rule is the third in a series, with others in 2009 and 2011. The earlier rules raised penalties for long tarmac delays and required airlines to announce full fares including taxes the first time they advertise a ticket price. Consumer groups praised the latest proposals.
“I think that it’s good for consumers,” said Charlie Leocha, head of the Consumer Travel Alliance and a member of a department panel called the Advisory Committee on Aviation Consumer Protections. “Finally the DOT is going to require airlines to tell consumers how much the full price of travel is.”
Airlines fought the earlier rules and are pushing legislation in Congress to overturn the full-fare advertising rule. The airline lobbying group, Airlines for America, said the market is working and the rule isn’t needed.
“We believe this proposal overreaches and limits how free markets work and will have negative consequences,” the group said in a statement. “The government does not prescriptively tell other industries (hotels, computer makers, rental car companies) how they should sell their products, and we believe consumers are best served when the companies they do business with are able to tailor products and services to their customers.”
The proposals are projected to cost airlines $5.1 million to adopt in the first year and $24.7 million over the next decade, according to the department, which is justifying its proposal under its authority to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive practices.
Under the proposal, airlines and ticket agents would be required to disclose fees for basic services such as first and second checked bags, carry-on items and seat assignments at all points of sale.
The department contends that fees now sometimes simply listed on a website leave travelers unable to understand the total cost of a ticket before buying it.
One concern Leocha raised is that the proposal technically requires airlines to disclose their prices, but ticket agents such as online sales sites might not be able to sell those services. A traveler could be in a position of paying for a ticket at an online site while knowing what the prices are for baggage and seat assignment, but then have to go to the airline to actually buy those extra services, Leocha said.
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