Top airline executives have been called to testify at a December Senate panel hearing after the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report on “junk fees.”
According to the report, top airlines including American, Delta, United, Spirit, and Frontier took in $12.4 billion in seating fees between 2018 and 2023. This revenue comes from charging passengers for seats with extra legroom and allowing them to choose their preferred seat.
In 2023, United brought in more revenue from seating fees, $1.3 billion, than from checked back fees, $1.2 billion.
The subcommittee, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), slammed Spirit and Frontier specifically, claiming they paid employees $26 million between 2022 and 2023 to “catch passengers allegedly not following airline bag policies, often forcing those passengers to pay a bag fee or miss their flight.”
Blumenthal claimed that airlines are “exploiting” customers with these fees and that he “will be asking airlines to justify these practices when they testify on December 4th before my Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.”
“As we head into the Thanksgiving weekend,” he added, “we regret that travelers will be charged millions of dollars in fees that have no basis in cost to the airlines but simply fatten their bottom lines.”
Airlines for America, a group that represents the largest air travel companies, responded to the report: “The report demonstrates a clear failure by the subcommittee to understand the value the highly competitive U.S. airline industry brings to customers and employees. Rather, the report serves as just another holiday travel talking point.”
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Several airlines responded to the report directly, including Delta, Spirit, and Frontier. Delta emphasized its commitment to providing customers with a “choice of fare products,” while Spirit and Frontier affirmed that they treat all passengers equally.
The hearing will take place on Dec. 4 and is titled “The Sky’s the Limit — New Revelations About Airline Fees.”