by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 8:20 AM ET, Fri October 25, 2024
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has partnered with the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division to launch a public inquiry, called a Request For Information (RFI), into air travel’s state of competition, investigating affordability, anticompetitive product and more.
The two governmental agencies will investigate previous airline mergers, airport access, aircraft manufacturing, ticket sales and pricing and even loyalty rewards programs.
In the joint statement they issued on October 24, the two agencies said they will investigate potential anticompetitive practices, the state of competition in the U.S. aviation industry, airport access, manufacturing, sales channels and affordability, labor market issues and more.
“Americans count on air travel to visit loved ones, explore their country and get business done,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Good service and fair prices depend on ensuring that there is real competition, which is especially challenging for the many American communities that have lost service amid airline consolidation. Our goal with this inquiry is to identify and remove barriers to competition so that more Americans can access the opportunities that come with good, affordable air service.”
The public is currently able to submit their comments at Regulations.gov through December 23. Anyone employed or adjacent to the industry are also invited to provide their input.
The Antitrust Division of the Justice Department was also the agency that blocked the proposed merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines earlier this year. More recently, the DOT handed American Airlines a historic $50 million penalty for mistreating disabled travelers and their mobility aids.
The news of the investigation was met with a mixed reaction from the industry.
The U.S. Travel Association called it another ”disappointing” political stunt, saying, “Airfares are at new lows and air travel demand is at historic highs. Yet air travel could be improved—by investing in technology, funding airport improvements and addressing the shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers. Rather than solve these serious, complex and long-standing problems, the Biden administration is choosing to politicize the air travel process and, in so choosing, fail the American traveler.”
Yet the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) praised the investigation, saying, "A number of developments such as the mergers and acquisitions approved by the DOJ in the decades following deregulation of the airlines in 1978 have contributed to an alarming decline in competition in the U.S. airline industry, resulting in both higher prices and fewer choices for consumers. "
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