U.S. plans to make airlines refund fees if bags are delayed

The transportation department will suggest that airlines reimburse checked baggage fees if the baggage is not delivered to passengers quickly enough.

The proposal, if finally adopted after a lengthy regulatory process, would also require immediate reimbursement of charges for extras such as internet access if the airline fails to provide the service in flight.

A ministry official said the agency would publish the proposal in the next few days and it could go into effect by next summer.

The proposal provides for refunds if airlines fail to deliver a bag within 12 hours of the passenger’s U.S. flight landing or within 25 hours of an international flight.

Current regulations only require reimbursement for lost luggage, although airlines must reimburse passengers for “reasonable” incidental expenses incurred during the baggage delay. The government does not know how often airlines withhold fees even when bags are significantly delayed.

The baggage fee proposal is the first of several regulations by the Biden government for airline consumers, according to a senior Transportation Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an undisclosed proposal.

Last year, more than 100,000 consumers complained to the government about air travel. Refunds were the biggest criticism, despite most airlines refusing to give refunds to consumers who canceled trips because of the pandemic. The Department of Transportation fines Air Canada $ 25.5 million but has taken no action against other airlines for refunds for canceled flights.

In 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, passengers paid $ 5.76 billion in checked baggage fees on U.S. airlines, according to the Department of Transportation. That fell to $ 2.84 billion last year when travel collapsed due to the pandemic. Numbers do not include carry-on baggage charges.

For many years, customers were able to check in a bag or two with almost any airline without paying a fee. That all changed during a travel crisis caused by the 2008 financial crisis. Now, most US airlines except Southwest charge a single bag, although the fees are usually waived for customers who buy high-price tickets or carry the airline’s credit card.

American Airlines posted $ 2 billion in checked baggage fees over the past two years, followed by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, each with around $ 1.5 billion. Because of their smaller size, discount airlines like Spirit and Frontier make less money but earn a higher percentage of the revenue from the fees.

David King,

The Associated Press

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