The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has unveiled a proposal that offers new consumer protections for air travelers following rules issued in December 2009 and April 2011. Protections offered under the previous rules include time limits on tarmac delays over three hours, more compensation when traveers are involuntarily bumped from an oversold flight, more air fares that include all mandatory fees and taxes.


In the new proposal, DOT would require airlines to disclose fees for some basic services such as checked baggage and advanced seat assignments, require more carriers to report their performance data to DOT, and codify the department’s definition of a ticket agent to ensure that companies that offer flight search tools and receive a form of compensation are adhering to DOT’s consumer protection requirements.

Currently, DOT says, fees for additional services are often difficult to determine when searching for airfares and as a result, many consumers are unable to understand the true cost of travel before purchasing a ticket.

Also, the agency is clarifying the term “ticket agent” to cover distribution systems such as internet search sites that offer a flight search tool, and other such intermediaries, regardless of the manner in which they are compensated for their role in arranging air transportation, to be “ticket agents” for the purposes of the Department’s air transportation consumer protection regulations.

So entities including Kayak and Google that offer flight search tools with fare, schedule, and availability information would be covered.

DOT wants to capture more on-time performance, oversales, and mishandled baggage rates from more airlines by lowering the threshold from any carrier that accounts for at least one percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenue to any carrier that accounts for at least 0.5 percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenue, which would cover Spirit Airlines.

Under the proposal, all reporting carriers would also be required to provide similar performance data for their domestic scheduled flights operated by codeshare regional partners. The Department will include that data in its publicly available Air Travel Consumer Report, allowing consumers to use this information to make better informed decisions regarding air transportation options and motivating airlines to continue to improve service.  Comments are due by Aug. 21, 2014.

“Knowledge is power, and our latest proposal helps ensure consumers have clear and accurate information when choosing among air transportation options,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a press release.  “The proposal we’re offering today will strengthen the consumer protections we have previously enacted and raise the bar for airlines and ticket agents when it comes to treating travelers fairly.”