{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-calls-on-dot-and-treasury-to-investigate-airlines-junk-fee-tactics", "Blumenthal Calls on DOT and Treasury to Investigate Airlines' Junk Fee Tactics", "2024-12-04", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CT", "Richard Blumenthal", "B001277", "www.blumenthal.senate.gov", "blumenthal", "https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press", "scraper", "[WASHINGTON, D.C.] \u2013 U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), today urged the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Department of Treasury to review major airlines\u2019 tactics to boost revenue from excessive ancillary or \u201cjunk\u201d fees, which have resulted in higher costs and negative experiences for consumers. Last week, Blumenthal released a Majority staff report today\u2019s PSI hearing\n\nPointing to the Subcommittee\u2019s finding that Frontier and Spirit airlines paid $26 million in combined incentive payments to gate agents and other personnel between 2022 and 2023 to enforce airline bag policies that boost airline revenue, Blumenthal wrote to Secretary Buttigieg, \u201cI write to request that the DOT review the Subcommittee\u2019s report, which is enclosed with this letter, and conduct a thorough investigation into Frontier and Spirit\u2019s policies, practices, and training surrounding the payment of incentives to gate agents and others charged with applying discretion in the application of bag policies. I further urge that, if the DOT determines that either Frontier or Spirit have engaged in unfair or deceptive practices in their implementation of ancillary incentive payments, it should prohibit the practices in question and access civil penalties if appropriate.\u201d\n\nBlumenthal also urged DOT to consider PSI\u2019s findings as it pursues its inquiry into the state of competition in air travel with the Department of Justice, \u201cThe Subcommittee\u2019s investigation of American Airlines, Delta, United, Frontier, and Spirit, which together control 60% of the domestic air travel market, also revealed how the decline in airline competition has harmed American consumers. Airline industry consolidation over the past 20 years has left a handful of major airlines that implement ancillary fee increases in lock step, often leaving customers no way to avoid certain fees.\u201d\n\nIn his letter to Secretary Yellen, Blumenthal called on the department to ensure uniform application of the transportation excise tax, writing, \u201cThe Subcommittee found that the five airlines collected $12.4 billion in combined revenue from seat fees between 2018 and 2023, that Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines paid $26 million in combined incentive payments to gate agents and other personnel between 2022 and 2023 to enforce airline bag policies, and that some airlines appear to avoid the 7.5% transportation excise tax by deeming some ticket costs to be ancillary fees.\u201d\n\nThe full text of Blumenthal\u2019s letter to Treasury is available here. The full text of Blumenthal\u2019s letter to DOT is available here and below:\n\nDecember 4, 2024\n\nVIA E-MAIL\n\nThe Honorable Pete Buttigieg\n\nU.S. Secretary of Transportation\n\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\n\nWashington, DC 20590\n\nDear Secretary Buttigieg:\n\nOn November 26, 2024, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (\u201cPSI\u201d or \u201cthe Subcommittee\u201d) released a report titled \u201cThe Sky\u2019s the Limit \u2013 The Rise of Junk Fees in American Travel.\u201d The report details the findings of the Subcommittee\u2019s year-long investigation into fees airlines charge for products and services that were once included in the price of a ticket (\u201cancillary fees\u201d) at five major U.S. airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Spirit Airlines. The Subcommittee found that the five airlines collected $12.4 billion in combined revenue from seat fees between 2018 and 2023, that some airlines appear to avoid the 7.5% transportation excise tax by deeming some ticket costs to be ancillary fees, and that Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines paid $26 million in combined incentive payments to gate agents and other personnel between 2022 and 2023 to enforce airline bag policies. The Subcommittee\u2019s findings suggest that Frontier and Spirit\u2019s incentive payments to gate agents may inappropriately encourage abuse of discretion when it comes to deciding whether a passenger has complied with airline bag policies, potentially forcing customers to choose between paying an unjust bag fee or missing their flight.\n\nI write to request that the Department of Transportation (\u201cDOT\u201d) review the Subcommittee\u2019s report, which is enclosed with this letter, and conduct a thorough investigation into Frontier and Spirit\u2019s policies, practices, and training surrounding the payment of incentives to gate agents and others charged with applying discretion in the application of bag policies. I further urge that, if the DOT determines that either Frontier or Spirit have engaged in unfair or deceptive practices in their implementation of ancillary incentive payments, it should prohibit the practices in question and access civil penalties if appropriate.\n\nThe Subcommittee\u2019s investigation of American Airlines, Delta, United, Frontier, and Spirit, which together control 60% of the domestic air travel market, also revealed how the decline in airline competition has harmed American consumers. Airline industry consolidation over the past 20 years has left a handful of major airlines that implement ancillary fee increases in lock step, often leaving customers no way to avoid certain fees. Pursuant to the DOT\u2019s October 24, 2024, Request for Information on Competition in Air Transportation, I request that the DOT consider the Subcommittee\u2019s findings and recommendations as it pursues its public inquiry into the state of competition in air travel together with the Department of Justice. To this end, please include the Subcommittee\u2019s report in the inquiry\u2019s public docket. Thank you for your attention to this matter.\n\nSincerely,\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-calls-on-dot-and-treasury-to-investigate-airlines-junk-fee-tactics"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.823488924652338, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}