House Committee Passes Transparent Airfares Act of 2014

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed new legislation that will help ensure that airline passengers know how much of their ticket price goes to federal taxes.

The Transparent Airfares Act of 2014 will prevent airlines from incorporating government taxes in advertised prices.  It will reverse the Department of Transportation’s 2012 Full Fare Advertising Rule that required federal taxes and fees to be included in the base price of any advertised fare.

The 2012 law gave airlines the power to include taxes and fees in a ticket’s advertised price, reducing transparency for customers in the estimation of the bill’s sponsors.

“Americans are paying higher and higher government imposed taxes and fees to travel by air,” said Chairman Bill Shuster of the House Transportation and Infrastructure, who said that this fact “is being hidden from them.”

Typically, around 20% of a ticket’s price is comprised of federal taxes, which, by being included in the overall cost, are somewhat inherently hidden from passengers.  Shuster said that the new legislation “will allow consumers to see the full breakdown of their ticket costs, so they know how much they’re paying for the service, and how much they’re paying in government imposed taxes and fees.”

(Photo: Accura Media Group)