(Just The News)—A Senate subcommittee report on Tuesday slammed U.S. airlines for charging flyers who want to upgrade their seats by selecting areas with more room or in more popular locations, closer to the front of the plane or near windows.
The report comes ahead of one of the country’s most popular travel periods, where many families travel across the U.S. for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
The report, published by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, found that American Airlines, Delta, United, Spirit, and Frontier brought in a total of $12.4 billion in seating fees between 2018 and 2023. United brought in $1.2 billion in seating fees in 2023 alone.
“Our investigation has exposed new details about airlines exploiting passengers with sky high junk fees,” committee Chairman Richard Blumenthal said in a statement. “This report pulls back the curtain on tactics like dynamic pricing that burden travelers and boost airline revenue.”
Airlines have eliminated the extra cost of changing their flights, but have added fees for special seating requests, according to NBC News.
“As we head into the Thanksgiving weekend, we regret that travelers will be charged millions of dollars in fees that have no basis in cost to the airlines but simply fatten their bottom lines,” the senator said.
Blumenthal released the statement and report ahead of a hearing on the matter on Dec. 4. All five major airlines, including budget airlines Spirit and Frontier, are expected to testify about their pricing structure at the hearing.
The report also claimed budget airlines have paid gate agents millions of dollars to crack down on customers who try to get the upgrades without paying for it.
Airlines for America, which represents the major carriers, said airline fees have gone down in recent years to make air travel more affordable, but customers have the freedom to choose if they want any upgrades.
“The report demonstrates a clear failure by the subcommittee to understand the value the highly competitive U.S. airline industry brings to customers and employees. Rather, the report serves as just another holiday travel talking point,” the group told NBC.
Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
