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Senate subcommittee grills airlines over mounting ancillary fees, presses DOT to act
Summary
Senators on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations pressed five major U.S. carriers about rising ancillary fees, data collection before price disclosure, and litigation blocking a DOT disclosure rule, urging the department to finalize a family-seating transparency rule and investigators to probe tax and consumer-protection concerns.
WASHINGTON — Senators on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Dec. 4 pressed executives from American, Frontier, Delta, Spirit and United over the growth of ancillary fees and the opacity of airline pricing, asking regulators to finish a rule they said would restore transparency for travelers.
“Passengers now are forced to pay extra for almost everything,” Chairman Richard Blumenthal said in opening remarks, citing the subcommittee’s investigation and calling fees “junk” when they are concealed from shoppers. Blumenthal said the five carriers generated $25,300,000,000 in checked-bag fees over the past six years and that seat fees alone produced about $3,000,000,000 in 2023 for the five carriers the panel studied.
Blumenthal entered two…
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