On the recordSeptember 25, 2018
I rise today to express my frustration--my outrage--that this body is poised to miss a historic, once-in-a- generation opportunity to stop the major airlines from gouging Americans with exorbitant fees every time they fly. In the dark of night early Saturday morning, House and Senate committee leadership released a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that does not include a commonsense, bipartisan provision to protect passengers from having to pay $200 to change a ticket that costs $250--a provision that would have protected a family from paying $200 to cancel a flight because another family member had fallen seriously ill and a vacation had to be canceled. Instead, after months of lobbying against my bipartisan FAIR Fees provision, the airlines won and airline passengers lost. I would compare it to the Christians and the lions, but in this story, the Christians even had to pay extra to enter the amphitheater. What once were considered the basic services of flying have now become optional and with a massive price tag--checking a bag, carrying on a bag, flying standby for an earlier flight, printing a boarding pass, early boarding, seat selection, changing or canceling your flight, even a blanket and pillow. Air travelers are being nickeled-and-dimed, but the real cost is in the billions of dollars. That is because the major airlines have turned fees into a multibillion-dollar industry. Last year, the airlines raked in $7.4 billion in fees.…
