The airlines, however, have been showing a low ticket price first and then adding these fees later, a practice they want to continue by opposing the DOT’s rule.

We represent a coalition of consumer organizations, including the Consumer Federation of America and the American Economic Liberties Project, in filing an amicus brief to support the DOT’s policy. Our brief argues that the current airline practices mislead customers by hiding these fees until the last minute, making it difficult for people to know the actual cost of their flight. Transparent pricing would allow people to compare prices more easily across different airlines, encouraging competition and potentially lowering prices.

The airlines’ current system benefits only the airline industry by confusing customers and increasing profits, while consumers are negatively affected. On the other hand, DOT’s policy could save travelers around $543 million a year. Still, airlines oppose it because it could reduce their profits, even though it would promote fair competition and potentially lower costs for people.