Says $100 Cap Is Needed To Protect Consumers

Last Wednesday, FlyersRights.org filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Transportation demanding a cap on fees that the airlines charge for changing a flight.

In a post on the organization's blog, the airline consumer watchdog group said that "changing a flight can be downright exploitation, especially if you're flying internationally." 
 
FlyersRights is arguing that the fees go way too far, and the DOT needs to change the rules.
 
An 18-page petition has been sent to the DOT, arguing that the fees - once below $100 - have ballooned as high as $750, and the group is calling for DOT to cap the fees at $100.
 
The agency has not weighed in on airline pricing since the industry was deregulated in 1978. "However, we have a fight ahead of us since the DOT has dismissed similar petitions, including one submitted in 2012 by a Delta Airlines passenger who sought a refund or change fee waiver when an airline changes a passenger's scheduled flight," the post reads.
 
Paul Hudson, President of FlyersRights said, "With consolidation and antitrust exemptions allowing price fixing and capacity restriction for airline alliances, reasonable regulation is essential.
 
He continued, "Many airlines now engage in unabashed rampant price gouging by charging change fees that have absolutely no relation to the cost of service and some have have announced they will continue to raise fees and fares without limit as long as they can get away with it."
 
As Richard Baxley, FlyersRights' staff attorney explained to USA Today, "DOT has the authority, but they've also acknowledged that in the last 36 years since deregulation, they've never exercised it, they've never denied a price or fee for being unreasonable," 
 
A spokesperson for Airlines for America, which represents the major airlines said, "The marketplace is working, and the petition doesn't demonstrate otherwise."

Comments on the Rulemaking petition can be posted at Regulations.gov

FMI: Petition