US Hearing on Hidden Fees Starts Today

(Dive Travel Business News - July 14, 2010) -- A U.S. House of Representatives hearing hosted by the US Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Aviation will be held today that focuses on the proliferation and disclosure of ancillary airline fees.  The hearing comes about four weeks before the close of a public comment period on a related set of rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Among other things, the proposed DOT rules would require carriers to provide GDSs with information about bag fees and optional services fees. Proposed rules also include details on tarmac delay regulations and data, disclosure of customer service plans, consumer problem rectification, oversales and advertising "full" fares.

"The proliferation of ancillary fees over a relatively short period of time has raised concerns over the costs and transparency of such fees," according to the subcommittee. "Often, consumers are not entirely aware of the range of fees that they may encounter in the ticket booking process, at check-in and at the gate."

The subcommittee also intends to explore whether such fees should be subjected to the 7.5 percent tax on airline tickets, "especially if the services provided for such fees were traditionally included in base ticket prices.

The Consumer Travel Alliance this week released a study that found "hidden fees charged by airlines on popular routes can increase the base cost of an airline ticket by an average of 54 percent for a typical traveler with two checked bags and extra legroom, or by an average of 26 percent for a comparable one-bag traveler."

According to CTA director Charles Leocha, "hidden fees charged by airlines now rival the cost of the tickets themselves, often without any disclosure to the consumer at the time of purchase."

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