Airlines, consumer groups set to fight over new bill

Seat size, legroom, price quotes affected

As summer vacationers start to pack up and head home, Congress is considering a sweeping tally of proposals that could affect travelers, from dictating seat size and legroom to rolling back rules that require airlines to advertise the full price of a ticket.

The current law authorizing operations of the Federal Aviation Administration expires on Sept. 30. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, is working to bring his panel’s bill for a five-year reauthorization to the Senate floor after a series of delays.

The House passed its version of the same bill in April.

Consumer advocates see victories and setbacks among the provisions in the two bills.

The House bill

Airline seats:

would give the FAA a year to set minimums for seat width and length and the distance between rows, although it didn’t set specific measurements. The version approved by a Senate committee would only direct FAA to study whether there should be minimum requirements for the distance between rows.

The room between rows — measured from a point on one seat to the same point on the seat in the next row — has been shrinking for many years as airlines squeeze more seats onto their planes. It was once commonly 34 or 35 inches, and is now under 30 inches on some planes.

Some safety advocates say the tighter fit makes it harder for passengers to evacuate in an emergency.

Consumer

Advertised prices:

groups scored a hard-fought victory in 2012, when the Obama administration required airlines to include government taxes and fees in the advertised price of a ticket. Airlines opposed the rule then, and they lobbied the House to include a provision in its FAA bill that would roll back the requirement.

“Consumers need to know the full cost of travel,” said Charles Leocha, president of Travelers United. “Taking a step back to allowing the airlines to advertise airfares without mandatory taxes and fees will be a major step toward allowing deceptive and misleading airfares.”

The Senate bill would prohibit airlines from charging “unreasonable” ticket-change or cancellation fees. The Transportation Department also

Extra fees:

would set standards for other fees to make sure they reflect the airline’s actual cost for providing extra service. Airlines raised more than $7.4 billion last year from fees on checked baggage and cancellations.

The House would ban airlines from bumping passengers from overbooked flights once they have boarded the plane. The provision was inspired by the 2017 incident in which a passenger was dragged off a United Express plane to make room for a late-arriving airline employee. In response to the criticism, airlines have cut overbooking to their lowest level in at least two decades.

Both the House bill and the Senate’s committee-approved version would require online travel agencies like Expedia and Orbitz to tell consumers about things like extra fees and changes in airline schedules.

Overbooked flights: Online travel agencies: