WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) today pledged to fight the latest attempt by the powerful airline industry to erode consumer protections in the name of profit by concealing the true cost of air travel from their customers. The senator announced he would be reintroducing his Real Transparency in Airfares Act to reinforce existing consumer protections and double the penalties for those companies that try to deceive their customers.
“Once again, the airline industry’s pursuit of profits at the expense of its customers has proven relentless,” said Sen. Menendez. “After failing two years ago, it is sad that some of my colleagues in the House would consider allowing a powerful special interest to try to cheat its customers. It’s time for the public to say: ‘Enough is enough.’ At a time when airlines are making record profits, they should be giving consumers more information not less. I will not sit back and let the airlines purposely cover up the true cost of ticket prices in an attempt to gouge their customers. I will continue to fight to uphold the rights of consumers, make pricing more transparent and ensure unscrupulous businesses are held to account.”
An amendment, backed by the airline industry and introduced as part of the ongoing House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee mark-up of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization bill, would roll back existing consumer protections by allowing airlines and ticket sellers to break out taxes from the base airfare and list them in a different place on their websites—making prices look lower than they really are, misleading travelers about the full cost. The amendment mirrors the Orwellian-named Transparent Airfares Act that passed the House in 2014, but was blocked in the Senate due in part to Sen. Menendez’s efforts.
Airlines and ticket sellers are currently required to do what’s called “full-fare advertising”—showing the full base airfare to consumers, including all taxes. This important protection helps travelers understand the full cost of their base airfare as soon as they begin shopping for flights. Sen. Menendez’s Real Transparency in Airfares Act, originally introduced in 2014 in response to the Transparent Airfares Act, maintains the existing rule that all ticket sellers must disclose the full airfare cost upfront to their consumers. In addition, it doubles the penalty for violating this law—from a maximum of $27,500 a day to a maximum of $55,000 a day for airlines and larger ticket sellers. The current $2,500 per day fine for small travel agencies would remain unchanged.
Sen. Menendez has taken on the powerful airline industry before. Last year, he convinced the airlines to abandon their trade group’s plan to shrink the size of allowable carry-on bags in order to collect more checked-bag fees. He has been championing additional consumer protections since 2008 with his Clear Airfares Act, a bill to require better disclosure of hidden fees. In May of 2014, Menendez responded to proposed standards the U.S. Department of Transportation issued, based in part on the Clear Airfares Act, which would require greater disclosure of fees such as those for bags and seats.
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