With less than two months to go before the Federal Aviation Administration’s budget and existence run out on September 30, House and Senate have not yet agreed on a number of key issues.
The House passed its version of a 5-year reauthorization bill in April; the Senate will need to pass its version when it reconvenes, and differences between the two will then need to be resolved.
Among the remaining issues especially affecting passengers:
- Seat size and pitch. Both bills agree something needs to be done, but while the House bill gives FAA a year to come up with binding standards for length, width and space between rows, the Senate bill only requires FAA to decide whether there should be standards.
- Fee visibility. This has been a bone of contention between airlines and consumer groups for years, with consumers demanding that airlines show the total cost of the fare upfront, and not only when it’s time to pay. Since 2012, that’s been the rule, but the House bill would repeal it.
- Excessive Fees and Extras. The Senate bill would prohibit ‘excessive’ cancellation and change fees, and require the Department of Transportation to determine if other fees are out of proportion to airline costs for the extra service, and to set standards. Not in the House bill.
- Online Travel Agencies. Both versions would require online ticket sellers to follow the same pricing-reveal rules as airlines, and would make them responsible for notifying buyers when schedules change or flights are cancelled.
- Overbooking. The House bill would ban airlines from removing a passenger from an overbooked flight once the passenger has boarded, a response to several incidents in which passengers were forcibly evicted so others could have their seats.
There are, of course, numbers of other issues to be resolved. Once passed and reconciled, the bill needs a presidential signature as well.
