Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on four major U.S. airlines to reverse a recent increase in their change fees to $200 per ticket.
United was the first to raise the change fee from $150 to $200 for domestic flights. US Airways, American and Delta matched the increase.
Schumer said that families on budgets book vacations months in advance to get the lowest fares. Such fare increases mean that plans are “set in stone” even if work, school or family emergencies arise, he said.
“With the growth of other fees, flying has already become prohibitively expensive for many, and the airlines, after making billions of dollars in these fees last year, shouldn’t pile on. At $200 per change, it makes it all but unaffordable for a family to change their plans by even a day or an hour," he said.
In 2012, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that the nation’s airlines collected $2.6 billion in ticket change fees.
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