American airlines collected more than $38 billion in charges on top of base ticket prices in 2014, according to a new report from the minority staff of the Senate Commerce Committee, which found that passengers are routinely kept in the dark about the true cost of their travel until it is too late to make informed decisions.
The report, released following pressure from constituents contacting members of Congress, identified a range of practices that senators say make it extremely difficult for travellers to accurately compare the full cost of flights before purchasing.
Among the most striking findings was that the terms and conditions attached to a single return flight from Washington to Orlando with a layover in Chicago ran to 54 printed pages of text, accessible only through a small-type link. In many cases, the cost of changing a booking was found to be equivalent to the original price of the ticket, even when the change was requested months ahead of the travel date.
The report also highlighted concerns around seating charges, with passengers in some cases presented only with seats carrying an additional fee when selecting their place on the aircraft, without being clearly informed that standard seating options were available at no extra cost. Senators said airlines should be required to make explicit that charges for preferred seating are entirely optional.
Seven of the eight airlines examined by Senate researchers were found to charge between $20 and $30 for a first checked bag, with Southwest Airlines the only carrier among those surveyed not to apply such a fee. The report concluded that there appears to be no operational justification for checked baggage charges beyond generating additional profit, noting that the actual cost to airlines of carrying the extra luggage is negligible.
The Senate panel put forward several recommendations, including clearer and earlier disclosure of all ancillary fees to allow genuine price comparison, prompt refunds for baggage delayed by more than six hours on domestic flights, and tighter restrictions on ticket change fees.
Senator Bill Nelson of Florida said he intends to push for action when the Senate moves to reauthorise the Federal Aviation Administration, warning that many travellers only discover the real cost of their journey once it is already too late to reconsider.
The airline industry responded to the findings through Airlines for America spokesperson Jean Medina, who rejected the criticisms and argued that record passenger numbers this summer demonstrated that consumers were satisfied they understood what they were purchasing before completing a booking.
