As experienced travelers know all too well, cheap travel plans that start with the purchase of cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages can end up not being so cheap if passengers do not carefully maneuver through the minefield of airline fees. Now the Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposing to report all airline ancillary revenue.
Presently airlines submit quarterly reports detailing revenue from baggage and reservation change fees. Fees earned for other service are reported to the DOT collectively as miscellaneous.
If DOTs proposed new rule is enacted, revenue from 16 additional fee categories will be broken out, including booking fees, seat assignments, priority check in and security screening, and in flight entertainment/internet access.
The Government Accountability Office recommended the collection of all airline fee data in a July 2010 report. Collecting this data will not prove to be a hardship for the airlines since the DOT plans to access the needed information concerning ancillary fees from charges listed by the Airline Tariff Publishing Company.
The DOT says that the objective of the new rule is to inform consumers and airline analysts about the total fees airlines collect from passengers. Also it wants to review this information to determine the impact of the increasing use of these fees on the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
The trust fund receives all revenue raised from the U.S. governments 7.5 percent excise tax on airfares and fees required as a condition of receiving domestic air transportation, such as some change and cancellation fees. The proceeds of this tax are used to help pay for capital improvement projects at airports.
Over the last couple of years airlines have increasingly added fees and revenue to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund has fallen slightly. The DOT expects to issue a final rule next spring. www.cheapfares.com