The new bill provides for a refund if airlines do not deliver baggage within 12 hours of a passenger landing on a US flight, or within 25 hours on an international flight. Current rules only provide for compensation if parcels are lost, although airlines must reimburse passengers for “reasonable” additional costs incurred while parcels are delayed. The Washington government does not currently know how often airlines will comply with their compensation obligations in the event of significant package delays, AP . News.
The baggage fee proposal is the first of a series of regulations the Biden government has prepared for airlines and consumers, which will be included in an executive regulation the president will soon sign, a senior Transportation Department official said. Unknown. Not yet a general suggestion. According to the official, the purpose of the regulation is to increase competition and expand consumer rights.
Kurt Ebenhuch, executive director of Travel Fairness Now, an airline consumer protection organization, described baggage fee refunds as a consumer-friendly item on the department’s long list of austerity measures. He said top priorities include payment for pandemic-related flight cancellations, stricter rules allowing families with young children to sit together at no extra pay, and more transparency about flight schedules and prices.
John Briault, vice president of the National Consumer Protection Association, said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appears to pay more attention to consumer issues than Elaine Chao, who held the position during the Trump administration. However, he said he wanted the Biden government to act faster.
Last year, more than 100,000 consumers complained to the US government about airline services. Most complaints have been received about refunds, with most airlines saying they have not received many claims for canceled flights due to the pandemic. The Department of Transportation is seeking a $25.5 million fine against Air Canada, but has taken no action against other airlines for failing to pay for canceled flights.
In 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, passengers paid US airlines $5.76 billion (covered baggage) for checked baggage, according to the Department of Transportation. This fell to $2.84 billion (HUF 830 billion) last year. Figures do not include hand baggage charges.
For many years, customers on almost every airline were able to hand one or two packages free. This began to change during the downturn in passenger traffic due to the 2008 financial crisis. So far, with the exception of Southwest, most US airlines charge package fees, although customers who buy expensive tickets or use an airline credit card are generally waived.
American Airlines has earned $2 billion (about $600 billion) in checked baggage fees over the past two years, followed by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, each worth about $1.5 billion ($445 billion). Because of their small size, discount airlines, including Spirit and Frontier, take less money but get a higher percentage of revenue from fees.
The package rules also cause a great deal of dissatisfaction in Europe. Airlines are increasingly under attack and punished for this. The Ryan Air Involved in a similar case last time.
