Senate report slams airways for raking in billions in seat charges

A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday slammed U.S. airways giant and small over charges to pick seats on flights.

Between 2018 and 2023 American, Delta, United, Spirit and Frontier introduced in $12.4 billion in seating charges, together with for seats with additional legroom in addition to these in “most popular” places which might be nearer to the entrance of the airplane, or window or aisle seats, stated the report from the Senate Everlasting Subcommittee on Investigations.

Final yr, United’s income from seating charges totaled $1.3 billion, the primary time since not less than 2018 that class surpassed checked bag-fee income, the report stated.

Whereas most main U.S. airways have gotten rid of ticket change fees for traditional financial system tickets, they’ve added charges to pick out extra standard or roomier seats on board. Carriers have additionally been racing so as to add extra premium seats on board to extend income.

Stamping out so-called junk charges has been a precedence for the Biden administration. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee’s chair, stated airline executives have been known as to testify concerning the follow at a Dec. 4 listening to known as “The Sky is the Restrict—New Revelations About Airline Charges.”

Airways for America, a commerce group that represents the most important U.S. carriers, stated air journey has change into extra inexpensive and that clients can select what they wish to pay for onboard.

“The report demonstrates a transparent failure by the subcommittee to grasp the worth the extremely aggressive U.S. airline business brings to clients and workers. Relatively, the report serves as simply one other vacation journey speaking level,” the group stated.

The report additionally criticized funds airways Spirit and Frontier, saying they paid gate brokers $26 million between 2022 and 2023 to “catch passengers allegedly not following airline bag insurance policies, usually forcing these passengers to pay a bag charge or miss their flight.”

Spirit stated in an announcement that it’s “clear about our merchandise and pricing, our airport insurance policies guarantee Visitors are handled pretty and equally, and we adjust to all tax legal guidelines and laws.”

Frontier stated that the commissions for gate brokers are “merely designed to incentivize our staff members to make sure compliance with bag dimension necessities so that every one clients are handled equally and pretty, together with the bulk who adjust to the principles.”