FAA funding bill could cut excessive air fees
Bill now includes language to curtail ‘unreasonable’ fees.
WASHINGTON — Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to approve funding to keep the Federal Aviation Administration afloat. Right now the bill includes language to curtail “unreasonable” airline fees. The airlines, with $4.6 billion on the line, are lobbying hard against it.
The FAA reauthorization bill, as currently stipulated, would strip airlines of the ability to levy all sorts of fees and entrust that oversight to the secretary of transportation.
“The only thing the airline industry is more committed to than increasing fees for passengers is defeating the provision in the FAA reauthorization bill,” said Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass.
So, who will win? The airline industry, which has contributed millions to the political campaigns of those who will make the decision? Or consumers, virtually all of whom — Democrat and Republican — hate the fees that airlines add to their ticket prices and will cast votes Nov. 6?
Members of Congress, who fly more than the average American, also bridle at the myriad airline fees that amounted to almost $2.4 billion in the first half of this year, and totaled $4.6 billion last year. Some of them fume in public, too, but they all are mindful that the airline industry has contributed $12.4 million to the campaigns of incumbents in the past 10 years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, and already has given incumbents $2.4 million in the election cycle that will end with the Nov. 6 election.
With 470 seats in the House and Senate at stake, there is an element of bite-the-hand-thatfeeds-you to legislation, which must pass by the end of the month. Unless it’s approved, the FAA won’t be funded and — though theoretically implausible — planes won’t fly.
People who have flown on something other than Southwest Airlines (which Consumer Reports calls “the top-rated carrier for price transparency”) probably are familiar with the largely opaque and confusing ways in which an apparently cheap ticket can mushroom into something a whole lot more pricey.
■ If you purchase a “basic economy” ticket on some airlines, including United and American, you don’t have access to the overhead bins — which means no carry-on luggage. A basic economy passenger on United who brings a large carry-on, in addition to a small personal item, is charged an extra $50 — the standard $25 fee, plus an additional $25 for checking it at the gate. Or, you can spend more and buy and “economy” ticket.
■ The cost of changing a flight varies widely among airlines — as do deadlines for making such changes — with some fees below $100 and others pegged at a flat $200 change fee, unless it’s an international flight. For flights to foreign destinations, change fees escalate.
■ Most airlines charge more for something more than the most basic seat. It’s not just economy, business class and first class anymore. If you don’t want the middle of the row or if you desire two seats together, that can cost your more. Leg room and seats that recline also come at a price.
■ The cost of WiFi and the strength of the signal vary in both the fee charged and the power. Want a stronger signal? It will cost you more.
So, will Congress come down on the side of travelers?
Brent Bowen, a dean at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona, thinks there’s a “fairly good probability” they will.
“Some of America’s more frequent fliers are members of Congress,” Bowen said. “They get tired of all this. The last time I checked, the top five calls to members of Congress’ offices were complaints about an airline.”
Bowen, who for 28 years has put out the Airline Quality Rating, says: “The biggest complaint of the flying public right now is always about fees.”