[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 209 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 209
To prohibit air carriers from imposing fees that are not reasonable and
proportional to the costs incurred by the air carriers, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 1, 2023
Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Brown, Mr. Sanders, Ms.
Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit air carriers from imposing fees that are not reasonable and
proportional to the costs incurred by the air carriers, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Forbidding Airlines from Imposing
Ridiculous Fees Act of 2023'' or the ``FAIR Fees Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. REGULATIONS PROHIBITING THE IMPOSITION OF FEES THAT ARE NOT
REASONABLE AND PROPORTIONAL TO THE COSTS INCURRED.
(a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe
regulations--
(1) prohibiting an air carrier from imposing fees described
in subsection (b) that are unreasonable or disproportional to
the costs incurred by the air carrier; and
(2) establishing standards for assessing whether such fees
are reasonable and proportional to the costs incurred by the
air carrier.
(b) Fees Described.--The fees described in this subsection are--
(1) any fee for a change or cancellation of a reservation
for a flight in passenger air transportation;
(2) any fee relating to checked or carry-on baggage to be
transported on a flight in passenger air transportation;
(3) any fee relating to the choice or assignment of seats
on a flight in passenger air transportation; and
(4) any other fee imposed by an air carrier relating to a
flight in passenger air transportation.
(c) Considerations.--In establishing the standards required by
subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall consider--
(1) with respect to a fee described in subsection (b)(1)
imposed by an air carrier for a change or cancellation of a
flight reservation--
(A) any net benefit or cost to the air carrier from
the change or cancellation, taking into consideration--
(i) the ability of the air carrier to
anticipate the expected average number of
cancellations and changes and make reservations
accordingly;
(ii) the ability of the air carrier to fill
a seat made available by a change or
cancellation;
(iii) any difference in the fare likely to
be paid for a ticket sold to another passenger
for a seat made available by the change or
cancellation, as compared to the fare that was
paid for the seat for which the reservation was
changed or canceled; and
(iv) the likelihood that the passenger
changing or canceling the reservation will, as
a result, fill a seat on another flight by the
same air carrier;
(B) the costs of processing the change or
cancellation electronically; and
(C) any related labor costs;
(2) with respect to a fee described in subsection (b)(2)
imposed by an air carrier relating to checked baggage--
(A) the costs of processing checked baggage
electronically; and
(B) any related labor costs;
(3) with respect to a fee described in subsection (b)(3)
imposed by an air carrier relating to the choice or assignment
of seats on a flight in passenger air transportation, ensuring
that passengers traveling with children age 13 or younger are
able to be seated with those children at no additional charge
to the passengers traveling with such children or to any other
passenger traveling on the flight involved; and
(4) any other considerations the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(d) Updated Regulations.--The Secretary shall update the standards
required by subsection (a)(2) not less frequently than every 3 years.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Air carrier.--The term ``air carrier'' means any air
carrier that holds an air carrier certificate under section
41101 of title 49, United States Code.
(2) Passenger air transportation.--The term ``passenger air
transportation'' means, with respect to the transportation of
passengers by aircraft as a common carrier for compensation,
foreign air transportation, interstate air transportation, and
intrastate air transportation, as such terms are defined in
section 40102 of title 49, United States Code.
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