In the last four years, the Biden administration has spearheaded laws that benefit passengers. Airline executives have criticized some of these laws as overarching and hope that the incoming Trump administration will be more business-centric rather than consumer-centric, or, in other words, “a breath of fresh air.”
What the airline executives said
Recently, the heads of both 
Delta Air Lines
and 
Southwest Airlines
have criticized the Biden administration’s United States Department of Transportation
(DOT), which
passed rules that greatly benefit airline passengers
and, in their view, hurt airlines.
Photo: Austin Deppe | Shutterstock
According to Newsweek, Delta Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian, had this to say about the incoming Trump administration’s Transportation Department:
“[We expect the new administration] take a fresh look at the regulatory environment, the bureaucracy that exists in government, the level of overreach that we have seen over the last four years within our industry.”
The criticism is directed at some of the regulations passed over the last four years. In April, the DOT passed a regulation requiring airlines to automatically issue cash refunds to passengers within a few days for canceled flights and flights with significant delays. The regulation is seen as a win for travelers who have historically jumped through hoops and battled airlines for their refunds for cancellations and delays.
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
Another industry titan, Robert Jordan, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, had this to say:
“We are hopeful for a DOT that is maybe a little less aggressive in terms of regulating or rule-making.”
Another rule was issued recently, requiring airlines to disclose fees more accurately when advertising prices. This allows passengers to make more transparent purchasing decisions.
Airlines often hide these fees until checkout, forcing passengers to accept the charges for convenience or restart the process and choose a more basic fare. The structure can be quite predatory, and the rule aims to make it fair for passengers. The rule would have affected many airlines, so they sued to block it. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the rule’s enforcement while it is being litigated.
Another example of the DOT’s ‘overreaching’ is the ongoing probe into
airlines regarding the recent devaluations of airline loyalty programs
, which has irked many airlines.
Buttigieg’s rebuttal
On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took a moment in a news conference about Thanksgiving travel to rebut some of the criticism leveled against the department he leads.
Photo: Dallas/Fort-Worth International Airport
He said to a room full of reporters:
“I know that some airline CEOs have expressed hopes that the next administration will be less passenger-friendly and more corporate-friendly than this administration. The passenger protections that we have put in place deservedly enjoy broad public, bipartisan support. I just don’t run into a lot of people who are against the idea that you ought to get an automatic refund without any hassle, for example. Some of these companies have been showing very healthy profits even at this new and higher level of consumer protection, demonstrating to me that these things can travel together.”
The last sentence is directed at Delta, which has been the most profitable airline in the US for multiple years running. The airline earned $4.6 billion last year and $2.6 billion in the first nine months of this year.
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