• Home
  • Post a press-release
  • Visibility packages
  • Subscribe email updates
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact

For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

Where press releases are breaking news

  • Home
  • Post a press-release
  • Visibility packages
  • Subscribe email updates
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact

FlyersRights asking DOT to regulate airline change fees

March 22, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

When Congress deregulated airline prices, routes, and schedules in 1978, Congress preserved the DOT’s responsibility to ensure that international prices and fees remained “reasonable.” This little-known provision of U.S. law means that the FAA should strike down any change fees that are unreasonable and have no relation to cost. See 49 U.S.C. § 41501, DOT-OST-2015-0031 at regulations.gov.

FlyersRights.org has filed a notice of appeal against the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals over its refusal to regulate international change fees – Flyers Rights Education Fund v. U.S. Department of Transportation (CADC).

Passengers are helpless when it comes these exorbitant change fees that can range up to $500 or more. Domestic consolidation and international alliances in the airline industry have combined to give passengers fewer options when travelling. As airline profits soar, the airlines continue to increase change fees by hundreds of dollars while publicly declaring that these fees are a major profit generator.

In 2015, FlyersRights.org filed a rulemaking petition demanding that the DOT enforce the Reasonableness Law for change fees on international flights. On February 1, 2019, the DOT denied this petition. In refusing to regulate despite the Reasonableness Law, the DOT said it relied on “market forces” to handle all air travel pricing and policy. See DOT-OST-2015-0031-0035. FlyersRights.org is represented in the court appeal by Joseph Sandler, Esq. of Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock P.C. of Washington, D.C.

Paul Hudson, President of FlyersRights.org, reflected on the past few years, “The DOT has demonstrated a tremendous ability to allow the airlines and airplane manufacturers to dictate enforcement policies. The DOT has ignored the law by failing to guarantee that international change fees are reasonable and related to cost. At a time when flights are routinely filled to capacity, airlines extort passengers into paying hundreds of dollars to change flights so that the airline can go back and sell the same ticket, usually at a higher price. The airlines reach into passengers’ checkbooks because the DOT refuses to follow the law.”

FlyersRights.org most recently took the FAA to federal court over the denial of its 2015 seat size rulemaking petition. The seat litigation has increased scrutiny on the FAA’s relationship with Boeing and other airplane manufacturers, has led to Congressional mandates to establish seat size standards and to review certification procedures, and has prompted a DOT Inspector General Investigation into the FAA’s oversight of emergency evacuation testing and certification.

Paul Hudson, member of the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee since 1993, noted “The DOT and FAA keep proving, time and time again, that they will allow Boeing and the airlines to dictate policy both in the safety and consumer protection realms. From ignoring concerns over the Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 787 Dreamliner, to rubber stamping manufacturers’ emergency evacuation testing, to decreasing enforcement of consumer protections to historical lows, the DOT has surrendered its duty to ensure safe air travel and reasonable protections for passengers.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: amp, and, appeal, appeals, aviation, Aviation News, aviation-website, Boeing, Boeing 737, Breaking Travel News, c, capacity, certification, change, change fees, circuit, Committee, concerns, Congress, congressional, consolidation, consumer protection, consumer protections, continue, cost, court, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, declaring, decreasing, denial, denied, department, Department of Transportation, dollars, domestic, DOT, down, Dreamliner, Education, emergency, enforcement, establish, evacuation, FAA, failing, federal, fees, fewer, fewer options, flights, flyers, flyers rights, flyersrights.org, follow, Forces, fund, general, generator, GO!, guarantee, historical, Hudson, ignored, in, increase, increased, Industry, inspector, inspector general, International, international flights, investigation, IT, keep, law, LED, Manufacturers, Market, MAX, member, most, News articles, notice, options, over, oversight, P.C., passengers, past, Paul, Paul Hudson, petition, policies, policy, president, price, prices, pricing, procedures, profit, profits, profits soar, protection, range, refuses, regulations, related, Relationship, remained, represented, responsibility, review, rights, routes, s, safe, Safety, said, scrutiny, seat, see, sell-off, Size, soar, standards, strike, testing, ticket, time, to, Transportation, Transportation News, Travel, Travelling, Travelwire News, U.S, U.S. Department of Transportation, up, US, US Department of Transportation, v, Washington, years

Search




Recent Articles

  • The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation Invites Cruise Passengers to Enjoy Revitalized Nassau Cruise Port
  • Summer Tourism Boom as Celebrities Flock to Jamaica
  • Jordan Tourism Board Awarded Order of Al Istiqlal of First Degree
  • Guam Medical Association provides clinics listing for stranded visitors
  • Fraport to Purchase More Wind Energy
  • Christina Aguilera to Headline The Official EuroPride Valletta 2023 Concert
  • Championing the best in class at the IMEX Frankfurt Gala Dinner Awards
  • IMEX Frankfurt: How Did It Go?
  • Jamaica Welcomes Inaugural Frontier Flight from Dallas Fort Worth to Montego Bay
  • A New Chapter Begins: Sandals® Dunn’s River – Jamaica’s Newest Resort Opens in Ocho Rios

Subscribe to daily email update

RSS eTN Articles

  • How Guam Visitors Bureau Helps 5000+ Stranded Visitors
  • Bahamas Welcomes Cruise Passengers to Revitalized Nassau Port
  • Global Pursuit of Luxury: Louis Vuitton is in the Lead
  • World Tourism Network Invites You to Bali The Journey of the Heart
  • Optimize Your Order Process with Shopify Shipping Apps
  • Summer Tourism Boom as Celebrities Flock to Jamaica
  • Travel to Top 10 US Cultural Cities
  • Qatar Airways Privilege Club Launches New Card Linked Offers
  • New Revenue-Management Solution at Magna Hotel & Suites
  • SkyWest to Deploy CAE’s NextGen Flight Operations Solutions

Archives

  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • August 2016

Content

and Breaking Travel News Business CEO experience first free hotel Hotels in including Industry International International Travel News IT minister most New News articles only over People s said sandals The World through time to TO BE tourism Tours Transportation News Travel Travel & Tourism Organizations News Travel Destination News Travelwire News up We were WHO World World News year years

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in