Executives from major U.S. airlines traveled to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to answer questions about excessive air travel fees during a hearing that got rather heated at times.
A Senate subcommittee grilled execs for adding “junk fees” to flights by charging customers extra for selecting their own seat or checking their bags, saying the expenses tacked on to ticket prices were akin to extortion.
Lawmakers expressed bipartisan frustration over the fees, with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) calling the flying experience “horrible” due to hidden charges.
“You guys do appreciate that flying on your airlines is a disaster, don’t you?” Hawley said. “Flying on your airlines is horrible. It’s terrible experience.”
Criticism was directed at Frontier and Spirit for offering employee bonuses for getting customers to pay extra baggage fees. The subcommittee said internal documents from Frontier reveal a “bounty bag program,” where gate agents earn $10 every time they identify …