Published: April 2016

It’s time to protect travelers from airlines’ soaring fees

In 2015, U.S. airlines collected $10.8 billion in ancillary fees, an increase of 24 percent since 2014. These fees, combined with historically low fuel prices and increasingly cramped seats drove record profits for the industry in 2015, a trend that is expected to continue in 2016. Consumer Action joined consumer advocates in urging Senate leadership to support the inclusion of the “FAIR Fees Act” (S. 2656) with the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2016 (S. 2658). FAIR Fees would prevent airlines from charging consumers unreasonable or disproportionate cancellation, baggage or other ancillary fees.

The "Forbid Airlines from Imposing Ridiculous Fees Act of 2016" (FAIR Fees Act) would reduce or even eliminate the fees passengers pay for baggage, ticket changes and the privilege of selecting where they will seat—options that once came with the price of the ticket. The bill specifically prohibits airlines from imposing fees that are “not reasonable and proportional” to the costs incurred by the air carriers. If enacted, the bill would effectively undermine the airline industry’s current business model, to “unbundle” fees from their base fares.

Lead Organization

National Consumer's League (NCL)

Other Organizations

National Consumers League | Business Travel Coalition | Consumer Action | Consumer Federation of America | Consumers Union | Consumer Watchdog | FlyersRights.org | National Association of Airline Passengers | Public Citizen | Travelers United | U.S. PIRG

More Information

For more information, visit NCL.

Download PDF

It’s time to protect travelers from airlines’ soaring fees   (NCL_FAIR_Fees_Act_Letter.pdf)