Is paying to check a bag on a flight a choice, or tantamount to extortion?
A group of senators and executives from five of America’s major airlines sparred over that question on Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which issued a report last month arguing that airline fees, for services like checking bags and choosing seats, had raised costs for passengers and left them without recourse.
“Passengers now are forced to pay extra for almost everything,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and head of the subcommittee. He said customers felt like “piggy banks to be shaken down by these skyrocketing fees — that seem to have no connection to any costs that the airlines incur.”
The bipartisan group of senators was trying to crack down on the charges, which lawmakers call junk fees and airlines often frame as “unbundling.” Under the Biden administration, the Department of Transportation has worked to target them.
Last year, baggage fees alone totaled $7 billion across 14 carriers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The airline executives argued that the fees give consumers choices by letting them pay only for the things they want.
“Our customers who prioritize affordability have the option to choose a lower-fare product — and in doing so, opt out of paying for additional services they do not need nor want,” said Andrew Nocella, the chief commercial officer of United Airlines, adding, “In our view, a one-size-fits-all travel model would deny lower-cost options to our customers.”
Bobby Schroeter, chief commercial officer for Frontier Airlines, noted that more than 70 percent of that carrier’s customers do not check a bag.
The executives most likely came to the hearing expecting a fight, but many could have done with an image boost. Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection last month. Delta Air Lines faced intense customer anger after the CrowdStrike software outage disrupted travel for days in July. The Transportation Department fined American Airlines $50 million in October for its treatment of passengers who use wheelchairs. (The airline is also trying to crack down on “gate lice,” the passengers who crowd the boarding area and try to get on the plane before their group is called — often to gain better access to the overhead bins.)
However, more people than ever are flying: The Transportation Security Administration said this week that it recorded its busiest day ever on Dec. 1, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, with nearly 3.1 million passengers screened at T.S.A. airport checkpoints.
Steve Johnson, the chief strategy officer at American, said consumers benefited from lower prices.
“It has never been more affordable to fly,” Mr. Johnson said, noting that there is a range of fares available for any single flight. “Our approach maximizes customer choice while offering historically low prices for air travel.”
The senators hit back, at times framing the fees as almost akin to extortion.
“We’re all captives on your airplanes,” said Senator Maggie Hassan, Democrat of New Hampshire.
Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, was even harsher: “You guys do appreciate that flying on your airlines is a disaster, don’t you?” he said.
The senators argued that bringing luggage on a trip is not a perk. They also argued that those fees should be shown prominently in the initial ticket price, so customers can choose among accurate final prices when booking a ticket. No one should be surprised by a fee at the end of a booking or at a gate, they argued.
The senators and executives also wrangled over variable, or dynamic, pricing and concerns about fairness. Some senators worried that their concerns would only deepen as artificial intelligence grows more powerful.
The senators focused on a program at Frontier in which gate agents can earn as much as $10 for identifying a bag that is too big to be considered a personal item and must be paid for as a carry-on. That can cost customers $99, said Mr. Blumenthal, who called it a “bounty bag.”
“This program isn’t about revenue. This program is about creating a fair and equitable setup for our customers,” said Mr. Schroeter, who rejected the idea that it was a “bounty.”
During the hearing, Mr. Blumenthal played a video of a Frontier gate agent arguing with a passenger over the size of a bag. (It fit into the slot in the sizer at the gate.)
“The frustration in that passenger’s voice is felt every day by countless passengers arriving at the gate with basically no choice,” said Mr. Blumenthal, who said that the five airlines generated $25.3 billion in checked-bag fees over the past six years. “Their flight is leaving in minutes. They have no appeal.”
The effort to reduce fees has been a key focus for President Biden, who is trying to cement his legacy before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office in January, and Pete Buttigieg, the outgoing transportation secretary, has made curtailing fees a key issue of his tenure.
Still, major challenges remain.
Mr. Blumenthal pressed the executives to commit to dropping a lawsuit that the airlines have brought against new rules — announced by the Department of Transportation in April — about surprise fees. None of the executives agreed to do so.
The senator also urged the Transportation Department to issue a final rule before 2025 on a push to ban airlines from charging parents to sit with their young children whenever possible.
“Get it done,” he said. “No more delay.”
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