Flying High on Consumer Protections: Transforming Air Travel

Even as the widespread availability of air travel has become one of the hallmarks of modern civilization, frequent negative passenger experiences have become one of modernity’s most familiar headaches. From impromptu conversations I’ve had while waiting for a flight, to formal complaints submitted to the Department of Transportation, where I serve as Secretary, I have heard countless stories of frustrating experiences that range from irritation or inconvenience to serious harm and profound violations of passenger rights. These stories, coupled with a belief that air travel can and should be a consistently better experience, have propelled us during this Biden-Harris Administration to commit ourselves to the largest expansion of passenger protections and airline enforcement in the Department’s history.

The strides we have made thus far, and they are substantial, are a credit to the civil servants of our Department and the leadership of our Administration. They also reflect tireless advocacy and important insights from pro- consumer organizations like the National Consumers League (NCL).

NCL has been protecting the interests of consumers for 125 years, and in recent years, the organization has been a tremendously important voice in the effort to ensure airlines treat their customers fairly. Recently, these contributions have included the service of NCL’s John Breyault as the consumer representative on the Department’s Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee.

In recent years, we have proudly delivered a number of important victories for consumers:

● Since President Biden took office, we have increased oversight of the airline industry and have been holding airlines accountable when they fail consumers. This has resulted in securing nearly $4 billion in refunds and reimbursements owed to airline passengers.

● The Biden-Harris Administration issued a final rule, which was then fortified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act, to make it easy for consumers to obtain cash refunds when owed. If an airline cancels or significantly changes a flight, passengers are now entitled to an automatic refund within seven business days for credit card purchases if the passenger is not offered or does not accept alternative transportation or travel credit. We have made good on the principle that consumers should not have to navigate a patchwork of cumbersome processes to request and receive a refund. No more searching through airline websites to figure out how to make the request or being misled to accept a travel credit when you are entitled to a full refund.

● Another final rule we issued protects consumers against costly surprise airline junk fees. It requires airlines and ticket agents to tell consumers up front about the fees they charge for transporting bags and canceling or changing a reservation. I did not expect the concept of providing customers with the information they need to make an informed decision to be controversial, but the airline industry has decided to challenge this rule in court rather than make the necessary disclosures to their customers. We will continue to defend in court a rule that we view as commonsensical and that is expected to save consumers more than $500 million every year.

● We have also proposed a new rule that would ban airlines from charging junk fees to seat families together on a flight. Today, many airlines still don’t guarantee family seating, which means parents face concerns that they may have to pay extra just to be seated with their young child. Flying with children is already complicated enough without that added uncertainty, so we are acting to address this.

We are proud of our efforts to date, and the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act signed by President Biden earlier this year builds further on our work to improve the travel experience for airline passengers. But much work remains to be done. Good policy, and strong advocacy for consumers, will matter more than ever in the years ahead.

I want to congratulate NCL on its 125th anniversary. I look forward to continuing to work alongside NCL towards our shared goal of making aspects of everyday life, like air travel, more affordable, more manageable, and less stressful for American consumers.

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Pete Buttigieg is the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.