Skift Take
The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, controlled by opposing parties, will be at loggerheads over many issues related to both the travel industry and travelers. However, there will be plenty of wiggle room, if not on airplanes with reduced passenger legroom, then in the halls of Congress, where some legislation will undoubtedly get done.
The Democrats taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Republican term limits on committee chairs will likely lead to a new lineup of committee leaders that would be a mixed bag for the travel industry and travelers.
Among the expected changes, Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon, is in line to assume the chairmanship of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, taking over from Bill Shuster, a Republican from Pennsylvania.
"DeFazio might be known to ASTA (American Society of Travel Advisors) members as the foremost Democratic proponent of the airline-supported Transparent Airfares Act, as well as a provision in the 2018 FAA bill expanding requirements for agents to refer customers to the Department of Transportation insecticide website if they are traveling to a country that might use insecticide on commercial flights," said Eben Peck, ASTA's executive vice president, advocacy.
The so-called Transparent Airfares Act has been on the wish list of U.S. airlines for several years; they unsuccessfully tried to attach it to the FAA Reauthorization bill, which became law in October. The airlines were trying to overturn the Transportation Department's 2012 full-fare advertising rule, which requires airlines to advertise the full price, including taxes and fees, that travelers would have to pay.
Meanwhile, the Air Travel Fairness, a coalition backed by Travel Tech (online travel agencies, metasearch companies and global distribution systems), ASTA, Travelers United, and the Business Travel Coalition, hopes to get the Transportation Department to reopen a request for information on forcing airlines to more widely distribute fare and fee information beyond their own channels.
"The airlines have long enjoyed not only a close relationship with the Department of Transportation, but also with the congressional committees tasked with protecting American consumers and conducting oversight of the highly consolidated airline industry," said Chris Grim
