According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), about 6 million Americans are expected to travel by air within the U.S. this Thanksgiving.
Most will have to pay unnecessary junk fees to the airlines, finds a yearlong study by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
The subcommittee requested information from three major airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, as well as low-cost carriers Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the subcommittee chairman, said at a media briefing in Hartford on Tuesday that airlines have generated billions of dollars in profits from junk fees for previously offered-for-free items like bags and seat selection.
“The airlines are able to do it, and they do it because they can. And the reason they can do it…consolidation of the airlines,” he said
He said 70% of domestic air travel is now controlled by four airlines.
“And so, they can march in lockstep as they raise these junk fees sky high. These fees are unconnected, totally un-tied to any cost to the airline,” Blumenthal said.
“Consumers should be aware as we go into this holiday weekend," he said.
“And I really regret that they will have to pay a lot of these junk fees. But I hope their anger about it can be channeled to put pressure on the airlines to do the right thing, eliminate these junk fees, because it is just making money for them at the expense of consumers,” said Blumenthal.
He has introduced a junk fees prevention act and a passenger’s bill of rights to stop airline junk fees.
Blumenthal hopes consumer outrage will help push action on the legislation.
