Major US Airlines Take Legal Action Against The Biden Administration Over Fee Disclosure Rule

Several American airlines are suing the Biden Administration because a rule was announced late last month that requires airlines to disclose all fees upfront.

United effort from several airlines

One of the legacies that President Joe Biden’s administration will leave behind is the defense of consumer rights in the United States, specifically in the transportation sector. Late last month, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced a new rule requiring airlines to disclose all fees upfront. This includes telling passengers the charge for checked bags, reservation changes, and cancelations. Some praised the administration’s efforts, and others criticized them, saying there could be a lot of backlash and even affect other consumer rights.

Today, several airlines joined Airlines for America (A4A), a trade association and lobbying group based in Washington D.C., in filing a lawsuit against the DOT. The airlines include: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, and Alaska Airlines. Southwest Airlines did not join the suit as it had previously stated its support for the rule.

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

According to Reuters, the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday. In the lawsuit, the airlines state that the new rule is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and otherwise contrary to law.”

In a statement, A4A said,

“DOT’s attempt to regulate private business operations in a thriving marketplace is beyond its authority. DOT has failed to establish that consumers are unable to obtain information about ancillary fees.”

The group believes that passengers are already aware of fees and that airlines already disclose fees in the purchasing process. Clearly, the DOT does not agree with this, and in its announcement of the rule, it said it expected passengers to save more than $500 million annually.

“Airlines should compete with one another to secure passengers’ business—not to see who can charge the most in surprise fees. DOT’s new rule will save passengers over half a billion dollars a year in unnecessary or unexpected fees by holding airlines accountable for being transparent with their customers.” – Pete Buttigieg, United States Transportation Secretary

What is the new rule from the DOT?

According to the new rule, the DOT believes that a more competitive market will be created by forcing airlines to disclose all fees upfront. The agency said that passengers will have all the information needed to better understand the true costs of air travel. Below are the main points of the new rule:

• Disclose critical extra fees upfront
• Explain critical extra fees policies prior to purchase
• Share critical extra fee prices and policies with relevant companies
• Inform consumers that seats are guaranteed
• Provide both standard and passenger-specific fee information
• End discount bait-and-switch tactics.

Related

USDOT Takes Big Bite Out Of Airline Ancillaries With New “Junk Fee” Rules

Airlines and ticket agents were given different deadlines for implementation of the provisions in this rule. Airlines were given six months to share information with ticket agents and small ticket agents were given two years to begin disclosing ancillary fee information.

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

The DOT is also working on rules that will require automatic cash refunds, end family seating fees, make passenger compensation and amenities mandatory so that travelers are taken care of when airlines cause flight interruptions, and expand passenger rights for wheelchair users.