Major Airlines Sue Biden Administration Over ‘Junk Fees’ Rule

In October, the Biden administration supported an effort made by the FTC to ban so-called “junk fees” across various industries.

“Unfair fees known as junk fees take real money out of the pockets of American families, adding hundreds of dollars that weigh down family budgets,” the president said at the time.

Now, however, the airline industry is fighting back.

Reuters reports that Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and Hawaiian Airlines have joined forces with the lobbying group Airlines for America to file suit against the Department of Transportation (DOT) over its new rule requiring all airlines to disclose upfront airline fees.

The suit, which was filed in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana on Friday, May 10, claims that the disclosure requirement is just another example of the Biden administration’s “attempt to regulate private business operations in a thriving marketplace [which] is beyond its authority.”

The airlines have also said that a rule requiring disclosure of junk fees is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and otherwise contrary to law.”

Southwest Airlines did not join in the major airlines’ lawsuit against the Biden administration, saying that it supported the measure.

The Biden administration argues that the disclosure does the job of “protecting people from hidden junk fees and ensuring travelers can see the full price of a flight before they purchase a ticket.” The administration further argued that airline passengers pay more than $543 million in junk fees per year, and these fees go straight into the proverbial pockets of the airlines.

The DOT’s rule, which is an extension of the administration’s overall rule against junk fees, requires all airlines to disclose their fees upfront, rather than hide them behind a hyperlink.

Airlines are also required to disclose that seats are included in the price of airfare and that passengers are not required to purchase a seat assignment to travel (which must also be stated in plain verbiage upon purchase).

Finally, airlines are no longer allowed to advertise promotional discounts off a “low base fare that does not include all mandatory carrier-imposed fees,” which the DOT calls a “bait-and-switch” tactic by the major airlines.