Biden wants new rules that would force airlines to refund fees when Wi-Fi doesn’t work, bags are late
travelers have long complained are costly tack-ons for sometimes lackluster services.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Friday his department will propose new rules requiring the refund of fees when baggage is delayed or when services such as the plane’s Wi-Fi or in-flight entertainment system are malfunctioning or not provided.
The move acts on a directive from Biden, who also ordered the department to consider rules that would require airlines to clearly disclose baggage, change and cancellation fees for consumers.
“Consumers deserve to receive the services they pay for or to get their money back when they don’t,” Buttigieg said.
Biden’s crackdown on airline fees came in a sweeping executive order that he signed Friday afternoon taking aim at corporate monopolies in industries that also include agriculture, technology, health care, banking and shipping. The order includes 72 initiatives, regulations and directives involving more than a dozen federal departments to promote greater economic competition.
“Let me be very clear: Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism,” Biden said before signing the order in the White House State Dining Room. “It’s exploitation.”
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Existing federal law says passengers are entitled to a fee if their checked bags are lost. The Transportation Department’s proposal would require that airlines refund checked bags when delays go beyond 12 hours for domestic flights and 25 hours for international flights.
Another proposed rule would require airlines to “promptly provide” a refund when ancillary services such as Wi-Fi aren’t provided.
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The top 10 airlines collected $35.2 billion in fees in 2018, according to the White House, a massive increase from the $1.2 billion collected in 2007.
A lack of competition in the airline industry “reduces incentives to provide good service,” the White House said, noting airlines were late delivering 2.3 million checked bags in 2019, according to data from the Transportation Department.
Airlines push back, arguing competition is ‘robust’
Travel Fairness Now, a consumer advocacy group, said Biden’s executive order will help curb airlines’ appetite for “pricing chicanery and surprise fees.’’
“After years of the powerful airline industry getting everything it wants at the expense of consumers, the administration and DOT’s actions are a long-awaited breath of fresh air for the flying public,’’ Kurt Ebenhoch, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “The airline industry is less competitive than at any time since deregulation and these commonsense consumer protections will start us down the path of restoring fairness for travelers.’’
Airlines pushed back at the White House’s characterization that the airline industry gives consumers few options.