U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg kept the heat on the airline industry this week, saying extra fees, or junk fees, are wrong.
Buttigieg, whose department has for months been calling out airlines about junk fees, such as baggage check-in and seat selection fees, pointed to one fee in particular he said was wrong, according to a Feb. 2 Twitter post.
"It's wrong for an airline to charge extra fees just to sit next to your child," Buttigieg said in his Twitter post. "This should not be controversial."
Junk fees are those charges by airlines for essential in-flight services, such as seat selection, baggage check in or a meal. Junk fees are unfair to consumers, the Biden administration said in an October announcement, saying it planned steps to increase transparency in companies that charge such fees and ensure travelers are not overcharged for basic services.
"If airlines agree that this is wrong, and especially for any airline that maintains that they don't do it, then they should have no problem with our work on better transparency and rules," Buttigieg added in another post on Twitter.
In December, DOT issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to enhance airline ancillary service fees transparency and to ensure travelers are fully informed of flight and understand what they are paying for. The rule would require airlines to display the fees for ancillary services, such as baggage and seat selection fees, during all stages of the booking process, including the initial flight search and final purchase. The proposed rule also calls on airlines to provide more detailed information about junk fees on their websites.
The airline industry has pushed back against the notion that all airlines impose junk fees. Airlines for America, which represents major U.S. airline such as United, Delta and Southwest, said its members do not impose fees for seating arrangements for families, though some low-cost carriers may, according to a Feb. 1 Associated Press story.
