Delta Air Lines cabin.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday slammed fees charged by U.S. airlines large and small Select your seat On the flight.
2018 to 2023 American, delta, unitedspirit and border The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report said that resulted in $12.4 billion in seat charges, including seats with extra legroom and “preferred” seats near the front of the plane, or window or aisle seats.
While most major U.S. airlines have moved away from Ticket change fee For standard economy tickets, they add a fee to choose a more popular or roomier seat on the plane. Operators have also been racing to add more premium seat Increase income on board.
Eliminating so-called trash fees has been a top priority for the Biden administration. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chairman of the subcommittee, said airline executives have been subpoenaed to speak at a Dec. 4 event called “The Sky is the Limit – Related Testimony about this practice was heard at a hearing on Airline Fees: New Light on Airline Fees.
Airlines for America, the trade group representing the largest U.S. airlines, said air travel has become more affordable and customers can choose what they want to pay on board.
“The report shows that the subcommittee clearly failed to understand the value that the competitive U.S. airline industry brings to customers and employees. Instead, the report is just another holiday travel theme,” the group said.
The report also criticized budget airlines Spirit and Frontier, saying they paid $26 million to gate agents between 2022 and 2023 to “catch passengers who allegedly failed to comply with airline baggage policies, often forcing those passengers to Pay baggage fees or miss your flight.
“We are transparent about our products and pricing, our airport policies ensure passengers are treated fairly and equally, and we comply with all tax laws and regulations,” Spirit said in a statement.
Frontier had no immediate comment.
