Airline executives blasted at Senate hearing over carrier fees

Officials from some of the largest U.S. airlines faced intense questioning on Capitol Hill Wednesday over so-called junk fees passengers are being charged for baggage, seat selection and other services.

"Our investigation found that in 2023 alone, American, Delta, United, Frontier and Spirit collected more than $3 billion in seat fees — only seat fees. That's not airfare, that's just fees for booking a specific seat in advance, or selecting a slightly better seat," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal in a hearing by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on the impact of such charges on consumers. 

"And that's an increase of 50% from 2018, just six years ago," added the Connecticut Democrat, who chairs panel.