First appearance on Fox: Under a new bill introduced Tuesday by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, airlines would be prohibited from offering employees “incentives” or incentives related to additional airline amenity fees. Discriminatory pricing could also be prohibited.
Hawley's bill, called the Airline Extortion Elimination Act, would allow airlines to charge passengers extra fees for services such as baggage, seat assignments, and other optional amenities as a condition of boarding the airline. Prohibits providing incentives, bonuses, or other payments to employees, contractors, or representatives. flight.
“Airlines treat their customers like livestock,” Hawley told FOX News Digital in a statement. “It's aggressive.”
Josh Hawley reprimands airline executives for giving Americans 'terrible' flight experiences
Sen. Josh Hawley, Republican, Missouri (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Senator/File)
The law also eliminates “discrimination” in fare pricing and ancillary charges based on protected characteristics, such as disability or family status, or other characteristics covered by existing federal aviation antidiscrimination laws. We are also aiming for Airlines will still be allowed to offer free or reduced fares to minor children.
“They may charge different prices for flyers on the same flight, and different prices for hand luggage and carry-on luggage,” Hawley said. “Now they're paying employees to harass customers trying to get on a plane. That's wrong. And frankly, it needs to be illegal.”
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Top Shot – A DHL Boeing 747 cargo plane from Cincinnati is seen landing at New York's JFK International Airport on February 7, 2024. (Photo by: Charly TRIBALLEAU/AFP) (Photo by: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images) (Charlie Tribarrow/AFP via Getty Images)
The bill comes as Mr. Hawley last week criticized airline executives, claiming that airline service has been a “disaster” for Americans.
Executives from American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines were questioned before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations about their companies raising fees for customers.
“So you guys understand that getting on an airline is a disaster, right?” the senator said. “I'm a little surprised by the general attitude of everyone here. Flying on an airline is terrible. It's a terrible experience. I mean, I say this as a father of three young children, but everyone. I can't say…no one enjoys flying on your airline. That's a big deal.”
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Senator Josh Hawley (John Michael Larsch/Fox News Digital/File)
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After the hearing, the subcommittee chairman, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), told reporters that the outrage against the airlines is bipartisan.
“The anger and frustration on both sides of the aisle was pretty dramatic,” he said.
Fox News Digital's Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
