US: Trump’s moves on airline fees prompt transparency questions

President Trump’s executive actions restricting travel from predominantly Muslim countries caused confusion and erroneous detentions at airports and are potentially having a negative impact on the US tourism industry. Further actions by the administration could have a wider effect on travelers when it comes to the cost of air travel and airline fee transparency. The DoT recently suspended the process of collecting public comments on two previous administration rule proposals related to airfare transparency. The more recent rule, proposed by the DoT in January under President Barack Obama, would require more transparency regarding passenger baggage fees. The other proposal, made in October, was looking into whether airlines were withholding valuable fare and scheduling information from consumers searching on third-party travel websites. The baggage fee proposal would have required that airlines and ticket agents make evident all such fees at the beginning of the booking process. This action followed an executive order issued last April by Obama that was aimed at making the use of such fees clear to consumers and several years of consideration on related issues by the department. The DoT, under Trump, suspended the public comment period for both proposals in March to “allow the president’s appointees the opportunity to review and consider” the actions. As part of his budget, Trump has also proposed raising a tax on airline tickets to help cover TSA costs. The fee per leg of a flight would rise to $6.60, up from $5.60, and would raise $40b in the first 10 years.<br/>