US airlines score win as Congress drops 'reasonable fee' rules

The US airline industry scored a win on Saturday as bipartisan congressional legislation dropped plans to mandate “reasonable and proportional” baggage and change fees, but included other new passenger protections. After weeks of negotiations, a 1,200-page bill to reauthorize FAA was unveiled early Saturday that would require the FAA to set minimum dimensions for passenger seats — including legroom and width — and prohibits airlines from involuntarily removing passengers from flights after they’ve cleared the boarding gate. Airlines had heavily lobbied against new rules limiting fees. US airlines revenue from baggage and reservation change fees increased from $5.7b in 2010 to $7.5b in 2017. Other fees are not reported to regulators. The compromise bill did not include language adopted by a Senate Committee in 2017 that would have required the reasonable fee rules. It was struck in a compromise unveiled by Senate Commerce Committee Republican chairman John Thune and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Bill Shuster, a Republican, along with the top Democrats on the two committees Senator Bill Nelson and Representative Peter DeFazio.<br/>