No More Baggage Fee Blindsiding: Menendez Urges FAA Bill Leaders To Retain 'Clear Airfares'

Washington - Today, the author of the Clear Airfares Act and four of his Senate colleagues sent a letter to the leaders of the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill conference negotiations, urging them to retain the Clear Airfares provisions from the Senate passed-bill. U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the legislation to bring transparency to the price of flying through a full, clear and upfront breakdown of airfares and potential fees, including baggage fees. He was able to get a slightly-modified version of his bill accepted in the Senate FAA bill as an amendment that was co-sponsored by the additional signers of the letter: Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Jim Webb (D-VA).

"The practice of 'unbundling' fees for airline travel is making it exceedingly difficult for consumers to know in advance what they will pay for air travel or how to compare ticket prices," wrote the senators. "One airline's recent announcement of its intention to charge $45 each way per carry-on bag is just the latest example of airlines imposing fees of differing amounts for different services. Consumers often discover these extra fees-which can add up to a significant proportion of the total cost of air travel-late in the purchase process or even at the airport or on the plane after they've purchased their ticket.... At a time when family budgets are tight, we believe it is critical to ensure that consumers have the necessary information to make the best possible purchasing decisions. We hope you agree and will support these provisions in the final version of the legislation."

The Menendez Clear Airfares provision would require that, before a consumer purchases a ticket on the Internet, airlines and third-party websites display a complete and understandable breakdown of his or her particular airfare, as well as any other possible fees that might be incurred on the flight (such as baggage, seat assignments, etc.).

PDF of letter to FAA bill conferees: http://menendez.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/20100416ltr_ClearAirfares1.pdf

Text of letter:

April 16, 2010The Honorable John D. Rockefeller The Honorable James L. Oberstar
Chairman Chairman
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & House Committee on Transportation and Transportation Infrastructure
508 Dirksen Senate Office Building 2165 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison The Honorable John L. Mica
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & House Committee on Transportation and Transportation Infrastructure
508 Dirksen Senate Office Building 2165 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairmen Rockefeller, Hutchison, Oberstar, and Mica:

As you begin deliberations on the final version of the FAA Reauthorization bill, we respectfully request your support for the inclusion of the Menendez Amendment promoting disclosure and transparency in airline fees. By unanimous consent, the Senate included in its version of the bill these provisions requiring airlines to clearly display all fees and surcharges associated with a given ticket, and we urge you to preserve them in the final version of the legislation.

The practice of "unbundling" fees for airline travel is making it exceedingly difficult for consumers to know in advance what they will pay for air travel or how to compare ticket prices. One airline's recent announcement of its intention to charge $45 each way per carry-on bag is just the latest example of airlines imposing fees of differing amounts for different services. Consumers often discover these extra fees-which can add up to a significant proportion of the total cost of air travel-late in the purchase process or even at the airport or on the plane after they've purchased their ticket. Comparing ticket prices based on airfare alone thus gives consumers a misleading impression of what they may ultimately pay for air travel, leaving budget-minded consumers susceptible to purchasing the more expensive of two airline tickets.

One way to rectify this problem is to introduce more transparency in airline ticket pricing. We were proud to support the Menendez Amendment in the Senate bill to require airline websites and third-party travel websites to clearly display all fees and surcharges associated with a given ticket, before a consumer is required to provide personal information such as a name, address, and credit card information. Providing consumers with fee information early in the purchase process will facilitate apples-to-apples price comparisons between airline tickets.

At a time when family budgets are tight, we believe it is critical to ensure that consumers have the necessary information to make the best possible purchasing decisions. We hope you agree and will support these provisions in the final version of the legislation. In addition, we have communicated to the Senate Commerce Committee helpful technical changes to the Menendez Amendment that we have received from the Department of Transportation and travel agent industry groups, which we hope you will include. Thank you for considering this request.

Sincerely,

____________________ ____________________
ROBERT MENENDEZ CHARLES SCHUMER
United States Senator United States Senator

____________________ ____________________
RON WYDEN MARY LANDRIEU
United States Senator United States Senator

____________________
JIM WEBB
United States Senator

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