运输部降低航空公司费用透明度工作
经过Richard D'Ambrosio/
包括美国旅行社(ASTA)在内的消费者拥护者谴责运输部(DOT)的行动不迫使航空公司更清晰,更充分地披露乘客费用。
DOT表示,它正在撤回有关拟议规则制定(SNPRM)的补充通知(SNPRM),涉及奥巴马政府于2017年1月9日发出的航空公司辅助服务费。清楚地向消费者清楚地向消费者披露特定于客户的费用信息或行程特定信息,如果客户选择不提供特定于客户的信息,以获取第一个检查袋,第二个检查袋和一个随身携带的袋子票价和计划信息提供给消费者。”
DOT said that “we are withdrawing this rulemaking in light of the comments we received” and that the withdrawal “corresponds with the Department’s and Administration’s priorities,” and is consistent with a Jan. 30 executive order signed by President Trump to reduce regulations and control regulatory costs.
“We are disappointed with the DOT’s decision,” said Eben Peck, ASTA executive vice president, advocacy. “While a far cry from the full transparency in and consumer access to airline ancillary fees ASTA has been pushing for since 2011, the Department’s January 2017 proposal requiring that consumers be notified of airline bag fees at all points of sale – including through travel agents – was a step in the right direction.”
“创建了这项撤销的规则制定,以允许航空公司消费者确定全部旅行成本,包括机票以及辅助费用,以及他们的例外和豁免,”旅行者联合会的创始人查尔斯·莱奥查(Charles Leocha)说。如果没有明确的公共数据可用于旅行社和互联网,旅行者就无法有效地比较商店。”
不让航空旅行再次出色
Flyersrights.org发表了类似的说法。保罗·哈德森(Paul Hudson)总统说:“这不是您再次使航空旅行再次出现的方式。航空公司已经免于所有州和地方消费者保护,许多反托拉斯法,大多数其他联邦法规和侵权法。该点是他们的唯一监管机构。”
Earlier this year, ASTA published research that showed that 79 percent of travelers support requiring airlines to disclose all fees up front; that 75 percent of Americans believe the government should prohibit airlines from charging for carry-on bags; and 66 percent support the prohibition of checked-bag fees altogether.
此外,根据旅行社研究,美国人基于“增大化现实”技术e seven times more likely to say the government favors airlines over passengers, with general consensus across genders, generations and income levels.
运输部长Elaine Chao在该部门网站上发布的一份声明中说,DOT“致力于保护消费者免受隐藏费用并确保透明度。但是,我们认为目前要实现这一目标是必要的。”
ASTA继续游说努力
阿斯塔和其他人不同意。“ ASTA坚信,从参与专业旅行顾问服务的消费者那里扣留重要的航空公司信息会损害旅行公众,并且那些通过代理商购买旅行的人应该像直接从航空公司购买的人一样受到知情和授权。虽然今天是挫折,但我们打算继续在华盛顿的努力,以确保这些旅行者可以通过其代理商看到,比较和购买辅助服务。”佩克说。
“If the DOT refuses to correct abuses or enforce existing regulations … and repeals existing regulations, airlines will be the first U.S. industry to have stripped the public of all economic protections from unfair predatory practices. Only Congress and the federal courts can now override this unfortunate DOT decision,” said Hudson at FlyersRights.org, which says it has more than 60,000 members.
Leocha at Travelers United called the department's actions a “dereliction of duty” and “an abdication of their legal responsibility.”