A Delta Air Lines cabin.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday slammed U.S. airlines large and small over fees to select seats on flights.
Between 2018 and 2023 American, Delta, United, Spirit and Frontier brought in $12.4 billion in seating fees, including for seats with extra legroom in addition to those in “preferred” locations which might be closer to the front of the plane, or window or aisle seats, said the report from the Senate Everlasting Subcommittee on Investigations.
Last 12 months, United’s revenue from seating fees totaled $1.3 billion, the primary time since at the least 2018 that category surpassed checked bag-fee revenue, the report said.
While most major U.S. airlines have gotten rid of ticket change fees for normal economy tickets, they’ve added fees to pick more popular or roomier seats on board. Carriers have also been racing so as to add more premium seats on board to extend revenue.
Stamping out so-called junk fees has been a priority for the Biden administration. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee’s chair, said airline executives have been called to testify concerning the practice at a Dec. 4 hearing called “The Sky is the Limit—Recent Revelations About Airline Fees.”
Airlines for America, a trade group that represents the biggest U.S. carriers, said air travel has turn out to be cheaper and that customers can select what they wish to pay for onboard.
“The report demonstrates a transparent failure by the subcommittee to grasp the worth the highly competitive U.S. airline industry brings to customers and employees. Somewhat, the report serves as just one other holiday travel talking point,” the group said.
The report also criticized budget airlines Spirit and Frontier, saying they paid gate agents $26 million between 2022 and 2023 to “catch passengers allegedly not following airline bag policies, often forcing those passengers to pay a bag fee or miss their flight.”
Spirit said in a press release that it’s “transparent about our products and pricing, our airport policies ensure Guests are treated fairly and equally, and we comply with all tax laws and regulations.”
Frontier said that the commissions for gate agents are “simply designed to incentivize our team members to make sure compliance with bag size requirements so that each one customers are treated equally and fairly, including the bulk who comply with the principles.”
