In the midst of travel uncertainty, Elizabeth Warren calls for a crackdown on airlines

Updated on July 27, 2022 11:46 AM by Andrew Koschiev

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on federal authorities to intervene in the current air travel chaos. With the help of California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg obtained by CNN urged him to utilize his considerable powers to safeguard consumers by enforcing regulations on airlines.

In order to hold airlines accountable for rising fares, increasing cancellations, and expanding delays, senators want the Transportation Department to exercise its authority "aggressively."

Warren and Padilla

Even more subtle, they remind out that the present travel disruption is just two years after Uncle Sam rescued the airline sector during the Covid-19 crisis.

For their part, major airlines have responded by drastically raising ticket costs and treating customers worse than ever after getting tens of billions of dollars in help from the American taxpayer, Warren and Padilla said in a letter delivered Monday evening.

1,300 flights were canceled in a single day

Flight cancellations have increased due to labor shortages, especially the scarcity of pilots, in the sector, according to airlines. More than 1,300 flights were canceled on Monday alone due to East Coast storms disrupting the aviation system, according to FlightAware, further complicating travel.

Premeditated plans

According to Warren and Padilla, airlines should be held responsible "whether owing to their own bad operations and staffing procedures or through premeditated plans to advertise flights they know they can't fill in order to subsequently cancel the least lucrative flights." Airline delays are to blame for 41% of flights, and they want the FAA to establish a regulation that penalizes airlines for any delays they cause.

Continuing to postpone flights for reasons that are within an airline's control is unfair and dishonest, according to the joint letter.

Government's spokesperson

One of the government's spokespeople stated in a statement that the administration will keep pressing airlines to improve consumer safeguards. According to the spokesman, "the Department expects that when Americans buy an airline ticket, they will travel to where they need to go securely, inexpensively, and consistently."

Airlines for America

"At a time when people are returning to flying at shockingly quick rates," a trade organization called Airlines for America, mentioned the Covid-19 outbreak and stated the sector is struggling.

Hefty punishment

Airlines deliberately overbook flights, prompting senators to demand that the Transportation Department impose a "hefty punishment" on them in addition to paying customers, in order to put an end to intentional rebookings.

Airlines or the customers

"Airlines, not customers, should bear the loss if this risk fails," argue Warren and Padilla.

As a "consumer protection watchdog," the Transportation Department is authorized by federal law to investigate unfair or misleading acts and levy fines of up to $37,377 per infringement, according to the Transportation Department.

The Goal

For Warren and Padilla, the goal isn't only to penalize airlines for canceling flights but to end the airline industry's decades-long merger and consolidation.

It is argued that "excessive consolidation" has resulted in "constant" price increases for customers, and that the Transportation Department should "exercise its full legislative jurisdiction more forcefully" to stop it.

Spirit Carriers

Spirit Carriers, a low-cost carrier in the United States, is the subject of takeover bids from JetBlue and Frontier Airlines, the latest evidence of the country's dwindling number of airlines.

Deregulation and concentration have led to an airline business that "routinely piles annoyance and abuse on customers," legislators warn.