Airline executives defend seat fees before Senate panel

American, Delta, unitedsoul and Frontier According to a report released Nov. 26 by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sitting fees brought in $12.4 billion between 2018 and 2023.

“Airlines these days see their customers as little more than shaking down piggy banks for every possible penny,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee chairman, said in written remarks before the hearing.

The extra charges are for seats with extra legroom, as well as “preferred” locations near the front of the plane, or near window or aisle seats, the report said.

“Our seat selection products are all voluntary,” Stephen Johnson, America’s chief strategy officer, said in written testimony before the hearing. “For customers who value seating in high-demand locations, we offer the option to pay for more desirable seats.”

The Biden administration and some lawmakers have promised to crack down on so-called “wasteful” fees and have targeted the airline industry for cuts.

Executives at major airlines have defended their strategy of offering more types of economy service and additional fees for selecting specific seats or checked bags, items that used to come free with the ticket, saying those options delivered to consumers.

United’s revenue from seating fees was $1.3 billion last year, the first time since at least 2018 that the category overtook checked bag fee revenue, according to a Senate panel report.

“In our view, a one-size-fits-all travel model will deny our customers low-cost options,” United Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said in written testimony. “For example, our Basic Economy product is designed to promote affordability by allowing customers to choose the lowest airfare and opt out of paying for services they choose to use. do not intend to.”

Nocella noted that United changed its policy to not charge passengers flying with a child under 12 for “preferred” seats.

Meanwhile, carriers are racing to add more top seats to the board to take advantage of one. A jump in demand For rooms – and more expensive – for seats.

“Fares that may require a fee to select a seat, for example, are clearly indicated with a symbol indicating that a different fare class or A seat with extra legroom will have to be purchased for a fee.” “Similar information is also included for possible bag and other fees.”

Discounters such as Spirit and Frontier, which pioneered the fee-based model in the US, encouraged rivals to come up with their own bare-bones basic economy class. Spirit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November after its failed acquisition of JetBlue Airways, a Pratt & Whitney engine recall, increased competition and demand for consumer tastes.

The hearing, which began at 10 a.m., also included testimony from executives from Delta, United, Frontier and Spirit.