Airline Fares & Fees Targeted by Recent US Legislation

There have been recent debates and discussions among US government officials on the subject of airline fares & fees. These discussions come at a time when there are seemingly a number of aviation issues making headlines and there is probably some connection between the two. The recent debates have led to the passing of legislation that further increases regulation of how airline fares are presented to customers and how fees are imposed. This legislation will certainly be beneficial to airline passengers but the extent of this benefit is up for debate. Some critics of the new regulations say that this is a step in the right direction but does not go far enough to protect consumers. While others say the new regulations will have a positive impact on customers and will result in a reduction of overall fares.

At the heart of these new regulations is the fact that airlines will now have to post airline fares with all fees and taxes included in the rate. This will likely have a pretty substantial impact, especially since the majority of airlines rely so heavily upon the internet for booking flights and this will make it more difficult to entice customers with low teaser fares. For example, in the past you would see some airlines that would publish a $19.99 one way fare to select cities, but after all of the fees and taxes were added in you would have a one way fare of $60. Granted this is just an example but the numbers are fairly indicative of what you would sometimes see posted on travel websites. Under the new regulations that same fare would have to be listed as $60. You can clearly see why this is not a popular piece of legislation amongst the commercial airlines.

Another issue that is addressed in this legislation is how passengers are compensated for being bumped from a flight or what happens when an airline loses your luggage. Under the new rules airlines will be forced to pay passengers up to $1,300 when they are involuntarily bumped from a flight and are unable to make it to their original destination within a reasonable amount of time. Now this is the maximum amount of compensation and the majority of those who are bumped will likely receive a lower amount with the average probably falling in the $600-$800 range. The amount that you will receive is dependent upon how long you are delayed.

Finally, the most common sense rule of this new set of regulations is that when the airline looses your luggage they must refund your checked bag fee. This only applies to lost baggage and doesn’t apply to delays in getting your checked bags. This just makes good sense, if the airline charges you a fee to carry your bags and looses them it only makes sense that you should get your money back. All of the new regulations combined should have a positive effect on airline fares and should make traveling by air even more convenient.