What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Secretary of Transportation to create rules that stop airlines from charging fees that are too high compared to what the fees actually cost the airline to provide. The bill covers fees for changing or canceling flights, baggage, seat selection and other airline charges. The goal is to make sure airline fees are reasonable and directly related to the airline's actual costs.
Who It Affects
Airlines that operate passenger flights in the United States, plus all passengers who fly on those airlines.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of Transportation must write regulations within 270 days that prohibit airlines from charging unreasonable or disproportional fees and must establish standards to measure whether fees are reasonable and match the airline's costs (Sec. 2(a)).
• The rules apply to four types of fees: charges for changing or canceling flight reservations, baggage fees, seat selection fees and any other fees airlines charge for passenger flights (Sec. 2(b)).
• When deciding if change and cancellation fees are fair, the Secretary must consider whether the airline can predict cancellations in advance, whether the airline can resell the empty seat, the difference between what the original passenger paid and what a new passenger might pay, and whether the passenger might book another flight instead (Sec. 2(c)(1)).
• Airlines must allow passengers traveling with children age 13 or younger to sit with those children without paying extra seat selection fees (Sec. 2(c)(3)).
• The Secretary must review and update these fee standards at least once every three years (Sec. 2(d)).
What Changes
If this becomes law, airlines will no longer be able to set arbitrary fees. All airline charges for reservations, baggage, seats and other services must be justified by the actual costs the airline spends to provide those services.
Important Definitions
Air carrier: Any airline company that has an official certificate to operate passenger flights. Passenger air transportation: Moving people by airplane for payment, including flights between states, within states and international flights.
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 659
To prohibit air carriers from imposing fees that are not reasonable and
proportional to the costs incurred by the air carriers, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 31, 2023
Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. THOMPSON
of Mississippi, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To prohibit air carriers from imposing fees that are not
reasonable and proportional to the costs incurred by
the air carriers, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Forbidding Airlines
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from Imposing Ridiculous Fees Act of 2023’’ or the
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‘‘FAIR Fees Act of 2023’’.
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•HR 659 IH
SEC. 2. REGULATIONS PROHIBITING THE IMPOSITION OF
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FEES THAT ARE NOT REASONABLE AND PRO-
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PORTIONAL TO THE COSTS INCURRED.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the
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date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans-
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portation shall prescribe regulations—
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(1) prohibiting an air carrier from imposing
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fees described in subsection (b) that are unreason-
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able or disproportional to the costs incurred by the
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air carrier; and
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(2) establishing standards for assessing whether
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such fees are reasonable and proportional to the
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costs incurred by the air carrier.
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(b) FEES DESCRIBED.—The fees described in this
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subsection are—
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(1) any fee for a change or cancellation of a
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reservation for a flight in passenger air transpor-
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tation;
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(2) any fee relating to checked or carry-on bag-
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gage to be transported on a flight in passenger air
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transportation;
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(3) any fee relating to the choice or assignment
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of seats on a flight in passenger air transportation;
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and
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(4) any other fee imposed by an air carrier re-
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lating to a flight in passenger air transportation.
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•HR 659 IH
(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing the standards
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required by subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall con-
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sider—
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(1) with respect to a fee described in subsection
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(b)(1) imposed by an air carrier for a change or can-
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cellation of a flight reservation—
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(A) any net benefit or cost to the air car-
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rier from the change or cancellation, taking into
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consideration—
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(i) the ability of the air carrier to an-
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ticipate the expected average number of
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cancellations and changes and make res-
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ervations accordingly;
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(ii) the ability of the air carrier to fill
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a seat made available by a change or can-
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cellation;
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(iii) any difference in the fare likely to
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be paid for a ticket sold to another pas-
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senger for a seat made available by the
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change or cancellation, as compared to the
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fare that was paid for the seat for which
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the reservation was changed or canceled;
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and
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(iv) the likelihood that the passenger
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changing or canceling the reservation will,
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•HR 659 IH
as a result, fill a seat on another flight by
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the same air carrier;
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(B) the costs of processing the change or
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cancellation electronically; and
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(C) any related labor costs;
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(2) with respect to a fee described in subsection
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(b)(2) imposed by an air carrier relating to checked
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baggage—
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(A) the costs of processing checked bag-
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gage electronically; and
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(B) any related labor costs;
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(3) with respect to a fee described in subsection
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(b)(3) imposed by an air carrier relating to the
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choice or assignment of seats on a flight in pas-
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senger air transportation, ensuring that passengers
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traveling with children age 13 or younger are able
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to be seated with those children at no additional
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charge to the passengers traveling with such chil-
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dren or to any other passenger traveling on the
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flight involved; and
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(4) any other considerations the Secretary con-
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siders appropriate.
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(d) UPDATED REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall
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update the standards required by subsection (a)(2) not
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less frequently than every 3 years.
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•HR 659 IH
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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(1) AIR
CARRIER.—The term ‘‘air carrier’’
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means any air carrier that holds an air carrier cer-
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tificate under section 41101 of title 49, United
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States Code.
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(2) PASSENGER
AIR
TRANSPORTATION.—The
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term ‘‘passenger air transportation’’ means, with re-
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spect to the transportation of passengers by aircraft
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as a common carrier for compensation, foreign air
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transportation, interstate air transportation, and
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intrastate air transportation, as such terms are de-
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fined in section 40102 of title 49, United States
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Code.
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Æ
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