“7 stories to know” is a new Monday series showcasing stories that may have been ignored in the crush of news over the past few weeks, and stories that have continued to evolve over the weekend. Expect to read coverage about health, science, and climate that frequently take second chair to what’s happening at the top of the page, plus information from local sources that the national media may have overlooked.
1. Secretary Pete Buttigieg announces big changes to protect airline travelers
The Department of Transportation issued new rules last week that address many of the fees, delays, and indignities that make airline travel so unpleasant.
Passengers should expect cash payments for cancellations, long flight delays, flights diverted to another airport, added connections, being bumped down a service class, luggage that doesn’t show up when it should, services like in-flight WiFi that don’t work, or finding that flights don’t meet standards for accessibility.
If airlines have to hand over cash for these things, maybe they’ll stop doing them as a matter of awful routine.
In addition to making airlines pay for these common mistakes, consumers are also now protected from several junk fees, mostly by forcing airlines to be honest about their pricing, rather than advertising a low ticket price while hiding a list of mandatory fees. The Biden administration expects these new rules to result in consumer savings of $500 million a year.
And maybe they’ll make it less likely that your next flight to Boston ends up being diverted to Newark, or that rolling away from the jetway isn’t followed by six hours of staring through the window at the tarmac.
The new transportation policies fit in with President Joe Biden’s bigger fight against junk fees that plague consumers. Whether its banks imposing unreasonable fees on day-to-day actions, or cable and phone providers tacking on whole lists of fees that were not part of the advertised price, Biden has been on a tear when it comes to saving consumers money and giving them more honest information.
The next time someone calculates inflation, they need to work that in. Because if the real cost of living includes hidden fees, there’s less money left for everything else.
Read More