US President Joe Biden announced this week a new regulation that would force US airlines to inform passengers of the total price of tickets before they are purchased, including baggage fees or additional charges.
This proposal, which was also previously handled during the Obama administration and later vetoed by Donald Trump, seeks to lower the cost of flights for Americans.
The Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, assured that a high percentage of travelers decide to cancel and then pay a fee for another reservation, a situation that he describes as unfair.
“Airline passengers deserve to know the total and real cost of their flights before buying a ticket”, Indian.
“This new provision will force airlines to be transparent with customers regarding the fares they charge, helping travelers make informed decisions and save money.”
Flights from the United States
Many of the largest airlines in the country already inform their customers in advance of the total cost of the tickets, as well as the terms and conditions, according to Katherine Estep, spokeswoman for Airlines for America, to the AP agency.
“This includes transparency regarding government taxes and fees on airline tickets, which account for more than 20% of many one-stop domestic round-trip tickets,” the spokeswoman said.
Although the measure must still go through a 60-day analysis period before its final approval, it applies to both foreign and domestic airlines, as well as to ticket purchase pages, according to a note released by EFE.
They would be required to show all the information included in the consumer fare, baggage costs, possible changes, cancellations and the choice of group seats.
Similarly, they will have to allow passengers with a small child to purchase seats at “all points of sale”.
On the other hand, Biden has proposed other regulations that would require airlines to provide certain compensation to travelers in the event of cancellations or delays, as well as the full refund of the cost of the ticket if services such as Wi-Fi did not work.
“And we’re going to have more rules in the works to further protect airline passengers,” the president said earlier this month during a speech at Boston’s Logan Airport.
