Key Takeaways
- • Representative Steve Cohen (TN-09) introduced H.R. 10517, the Fair Fees Act, which would amend Title 49 of the United States Code to regulate airline fee structures and mandate refunds for cancelled, significantly delayed, or changed flights.
- • The legislation prohibits airlines from charging fees for checked baggage, seat selection, reservation changes, and cancellations that are not reasonable and proportional to the actual costs incurred by carriers in providing those services.
- • U.S. airlines generated a record $7.6 billion in ancillary fees in 2018, with lack of fee transparency cited as a primary consumer grievance; the Fair Fees Act grants the U.S. Department of Transportation regulatory authority to enforce reasonable fee standards.
- • Consumer advocacy organizations, including Consumer Reports, have endorsed the legislation, citing arbitrary and non-transparent fee structures as barriers to fair passenger pricing.
- • The bill addresses a recurring policy concern, with Cohen previously introducing similar fair-fee legislation (H.R. 5195) during earlier congressional sessions, indicating sustained legislative focus on airline fee reform.
Summary
Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee's 9th Congressional District has introduced H.R. 10517, legislation designed to regulate airline ancillary fee structures and enhance passenger protections. The Fair Fees Act (Forbidding Airlines from Imposing Ridiculous Fees Act) amends Title 49 of the United States Code to establish regulatory constraints on airline fee practices and create refund obligations for flight cancellations, significant delays, and schedule changes.
The core mechanism of the legislation prohibits airlines from imposing fees—including checked baggage charges, seat selection fees, reservation change fees, and cancellation charges—unless those fees are reasonable and proportional to the actual costs incurred by air carriers in delivering the associated services. This proportionality requirement directly addresses what consumer advocates identify as systematic fee opacity in the airline industry. According to witness testimony from William J. McGee, an aviation consultant with Consumer Reports, airline fee structures lack transparency and operate on seemingly arbitrary pricing models, a dynamic the Fair Fees Act aims to rectify.
The financial scale of airline ancillary revenues provides context for the legislative intervention. U.S. airlines collected a record $7.6 billion in ancillary fees in 2018 alone, predominantly from baggage and reservation modification charges. Cohen emphasized during House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee aviation subcommittee hearings that passengers express substantial frustration with these fee levels, particularly when the connection between fee amount and carrier cost remains opaque to consumers.
The Fair Fees Act delegates enforcement authority to the U.S. Department of Transportation, empowering the agency to establish and oversee reasonable fee standards across the industry. This regulatory framework represents a departure from the historical practice of allowing carriers substantial discretion in fee-setting, establishing explicit cost-proportionality as the statutory standard. Cohen's reintroduction of fair-fee legislation signals sustained congressional attention to airline consumer protection, building on earlier legislative efforts in prior congressional sessions addressing the same policy objective.
The core mechanism of the legislation prohibits airlines from imposing fees—including checked baggage charges, seat selection fees, reservation change fees, and cancellation charges—unless those fees are reasonable and proportional to the actual costs incurred by air carriers in delivering the associated services. This proportionality requirement directly addresses what consumer advocates identify as systematic fee opacity in the airline industry. According to witness testimony from William J. McGee, an aviation consultant with Consumer Reports, airline fee structures lack transparency and operate on seemingly arbitrary pricing models, a dynamic the Fair Fees Act aims to rectify.
The financial scale of airline ancillary revenues provides context for the legislative intervention. U.S. airlines collected a record $7.6 billion in ancillary fees in 2018 alone, predominantly from baggage and reservation modification charges. Cohen emphasized during House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee aviation subcommittee hearings that passengers express substantial frustration with these fee levels, particularly when the connection between fee amount and carrier cost remains opaque to consumers.
The Fair Fees Act delegates enforcement authority to the U.S. Department of Transportation, empowering the agency to establish and oversee reasonable fee standards across the industry. This regulatory framework represents a departure from the historical practice of allowing carriers substantial discretion in fee-setting, establishing explicit cost-proportionality as the statutory standard. Cohen's reintroduction of fair-fee legislation signals sustained congressional attention to airline consumer protection, building on earlier legislative efforts in prior congressional sessions addressing the same policy objective.
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