Airlines should clearly disclose the cost of change and cancellation fees, as well as the size of the plane’s seats, before a passenger buys a ticket, a federal panel said Tuesday.
Hotels should also be required to include any mandatory fees in their room rates, the Transportation Department’s Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections recommended.
The panel’s recommendation on hotels was directed to the Federal Trade Commission, which has been investigating such so-called drip pricing.
Likewise, the four-member panel heard testimony that passengers must search to find the cost of change or cancellation fees that airlines hide in a ticket’s fine print. The fees can run hundreds of dollars, especially on international flights.
Airlines have shrunk the distance between a seat and the one in front by as much as 6 inches in recent years. Now 31 inches is typical, and some airlines have wedged in so many seats that there is as little as 28 inches of room.
