Buttigieg Pushes Back On Delta CEO’s Claim Of “Overreach” In Passenger Protections

Pete Buttigieg, the outgoing Secretary of Transportation of the United States, has pushed back against comments that were made by Ed Bastian, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Delta Air Lines, saying that airline executives who think that the Department of Transportation ( DOT) went too far with consumer protections were out of touch with their customers.

Positive passenger response

Buttigieg, in an interview with The New York Times, remarked that anybody who thinks that the DOT overstepped its boundaries when enforcing consumer protections in the past few years was “out of touch with his customers.”

The Transportation Secretary added that passengers have supported the protections, including automatic refunds for delays and/or flight cancelations and new junk fee rules, with airlines not coming off worse due to the latest regulations.

“We want airlines to succeed. We just want them to succeed by doing the right thing, and if they won’t do that on their own, we will implement policies to require it.”

Buttigieg added that he does not believe that the incoming administration, with Republicans securing a majority in the House and Senate and taking control of the White House, will change the consumer-first approach.

Governmental overreach

Buttigieg was responding to comments Bastian made before Delta Air Lines’ Investor Day on November 20.

Before the event, the airline’s CEO said that Trump promised to take a look at the regulatory environment, including “the level of overreach that we have seen over the last four years within our industry,” according to a report by the Associated Press (AP). Bastian added that this would be a breath of fresh air.

The executive made his statements despite the fact that since 2022, when the pandemic had essentially ended, Delta Air Lines has not had an unprofitable year. During the first nine months of 2024, the airline made a profit of $2.6 billion, 2% higher year-on-year (YoY), with revenues increasing by $2.2 billion, or 5%.

Seat fees generating $12.4 billion in revenue

In a report issued by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) on November 26, the Subcommittee detailed that over the past two decades, US airlines have increasingly unbundled their products, adding a vital stream of revenue from ancillary fees.

“Unbundling has not lowered the cost of flying for consumers, who now face additional charges to fly with carry-on or checked bags or to sit next to their minor children.”

According to the report, previously undisclosed data showed that American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and two low-cost carriers, Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines, have collectively generated $12.4 billion from seat fees between 2018 and 2023.

In addition, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines have labeled portions of their charges as non-taxable fees, resulting in the trio avoiding the federally mandated transportation excise tax.

“The ambiguity encourages airlines to charge more in non-taxable fees than airfare. Airlines that maximize this strategy gain an advantage attracting price-sensitive customers.”

The Subcommittee will hold a hearing on December 4, which will start at 10:00 local time (UTC -5). The hearing, titled ‘The Sky’s the Limit – New Revelations About Airline Fees,’ will include testimonies from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines executives.

After the Subcommittee issued its report, Richard Blumenthal, the Chair of PSI, said that its investigation had exposed new details about how airlines are exploiting passengers with sky-high junk fees.

“I will be asking airlines to justify these practices when they testify on December 4th before my Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.”

Blumenthal added that he had regretted that passengers would be charged millions of dollars during the Thanksgiving weekend travel period, with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reporting record-breaking numbers, including over 3 million passengers on December 1.