Major Airlines Sue Biden Administration

(DailyDig.com) – The most recent confrontation between US airlines and the US Transportation Department (USDOT) regarding direct exposure of hidden fees occurred on May 10. Airlines for America, a group that lobbies for major US airlines, filed a lawsuit for six airlines to stop the new rules that DOT issued in April.

The new rule requires airlines to expose the fees they charge customers for such things as extra baggage or flight changes. The rules state that this change will allow customers to be aware of these fees and avoid them prior to discovering them as they happen.

Airlines for America, which represents Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines, issued a statement on May 13 that the DOT rules will only serve to confuse their customers. They also stated that the rules show that the DOT is attempting to regulate a private business operating in a healthy industry’s market, and, as such, it is meddling in their industry that is not within their authority.

In the lawsuit, it states that the rule is frivolous, unreasonable, abusive, irresponsible, and antithetical to the rule of law.

In response to the lawsuit, the DOT stated on May 13 that they intend to defend their rule firmly in order to protect the customers from these fees that they may be unaware of when purchasing their ticket. The new rule aimed to prevent customers from incurring these fees if they were aware of their causes before issuance.

The DOT stated that customers pay an additional $543 million in surprise fees each year. They state that many airlines charge extra fees for additional baggage or any changes to flight arrangements. Their rule only requires airlines to post these fees prior to a ticket purchase.

According to the lawsuit, airlines already display the fees to their customers, and the DOT has not shown that customers cannot find the information already. The only thing that the rule will do is confuse the customer with information during their ticket purchase.