Wednesday, May 21, 2014
CU welcomes new DOT protections for airline passengers
WASHINGTON — Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, today welcomed the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s proposal for new protections for airline passengers, which build upon improvements announced in 2009 and 2011.
CU applauded Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx for these proposed rules to require the disclosure of fees for checked baggage and other basic services, require airlines to report their performance data to DOT, and help ensure companies that offer flight search tools and receive compensation are following DOT’s consumer protection requirements.
William J. McGee, aviation and transportation consultant to Consumers Union, said, “These proposals provide a vital and needed forum for airline passengers to be heard. We agree with Secretary Foxx that these new proposals will ‘raise the bar’ for treating travelers fairly. We are particularly pleased these protections include specific initiatives we proposed while serving on the DOT’s Future of Aviation Advisory Committee. This includes providing full transparency of mandatory and discretionary airline fees, as well as greater transparency of airline regional and code share operations, which have increased dramatically in recent years.”
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Media contact: David Butler, dbutler@consumer.org, 202-462-6262