Aviation securityReport recommends abolishing fees for checked bags
A recent report by the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) found that airlines’ policy of charging for checked bags cost DHS additional money, increased wait times at airport checkpoints, and discouraged people from flying; the airport check-in fee and the additional hassles of flying have discouraged people from taking two to three trips a year resulting in the loss of roughly $85 billion in potential consumer spending; the report suggested that the Department of Transportation issue regulations that required airlines to allow passengers one checked bag at no additional charge; it also recommended the implementation of a trusted traveler program
TSA recommends eliminating baggage fees // Source: motherjones.com
A recent report by the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) found that airlines’ policy of charging for checked bags cost DHS additional money, increased wait times at airport checkpoints, and discouraged people from flying.
According to the report, the airport check-in fee and the additional hassles of flying have discouraged people from taking two to three trips a year. This has led to the loss of roughly $85 billion in potential consumer spending. To expedite the screening process and encourage people to fly, the report suggested that the Department of Transportation issue regulations that required airlines to allow passengers one checked bag at no additional charge. This move would help reduce the number of bags that Transportation Security Administration screeners must check.
The report also advocated for the implementation of the trusted traveler program, which allows frequent fliers who pass a background check and are certified to not pose a threat to aviation use a fast lane and not remove their shoes, coats, or hats.
Implementing these changes would help minimize wait times at airports by increasing screening efficiency as TSA agents would not have to search so many bags and people.
“The country that put a man on the moon, invented the Internet and creates daily innovations in manufacturing can and must do better in screening passengers and improving our air travel experience. Air travel is the gateway to commerce and an improved experience is directly tied to job creation and a stronger economy,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of USTA.
Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano supported these findings at a senate hearing. She said that the current airline policy of charging for checked bags results has forced TSA officers to inspect more bags, costing as much as an additional $260 million a year.
At the hearing, Senator Mary Landrieu (D – Louisiana), the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, asked Napolitano if airlines should help pay for the added cost that their policy generates.
Napolitano avoided the question but did say that if airlines were charged more for airport security fees with passengers paying an additional $5 for tickets, DHS would receive roughly $600 million a year.
The Air Transport Association (ATA), the airline industry’s lobbying group, issued a statement protesting the USTA’s recommendations.
In a statement, ATA said, “Consumers have been the big winners from a quasi-deregulated, highly competitive airline industry, and government taking a huge step backward and dictating how airlines deliver and price their products and services, as the USTA suggests, diminishes customer choice and competitive differentiation among carriers.”
They added, “Such a move benefits no one and unfortunately detracts from important aspects of their recommendations.”
The report was generated by a special commission led by former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge, former congressman Jim Turner, and Sam Gilliland, the president and CEO of Sabre Holdings.
