Hawley presents bill to prevent predatory airline fees

Sen. Josh Hawley introduced legislation Wednesday intended to ban airlines from making passengers pay fees for baggage, seating or other services as a condition of boarding a flight.

Mr. Hawley, Missouri Republican, said he spearheaded the End Airline Extortion Act to ban those predatory practices.

“Airline companies treat their customers like cattle. It’s offensive. They charge fliers different prices for the same flights — and sometimes different prices for bags and carry-ons. Now they’re paying their employees bounties to harass customers trying to get on the plane. It’s wrong. And frankly, it needs to be illegal,” Mr. Hawley said in a statement.

Mr. Hawley, during a hearing last week, grilled airline executives from Spirit and Frontier about the fees.

Following the hearing, he posted on X that “Spirit and Frontier paid their gate agents $26 MILLION to harass customers whose bags were ‘too big.’ Keep in mind that they’re harassing customers who’ve already paid. It’s corporate greed in action.”

The End Airline Extortion Act would ban airlines from paying bounties or other incentives to their personnel if they make passengers pay further fees for baggage, seating or other services.

It would also prohibit discriminatory pricing by banning airlines from using personal characteristics — such as sex, family status or disability status — as a basis for charging higher rates for fares or fees to passengers on the same flight.