ASTA is asking agents to contact their senators today to demand action.
At ASTA Legislative Day, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act took center stage as one of the organizations' top priorities, fighting burdensome new consumer disclosures in the bill. Now, that bill is about to come before the Senate for a vote and ASTA needs travel agents' help to pass an amendment to the bill.
A part of the Senate bill (S. 1405) would add seven new disclosures to every air transaction. ASTA estimates that this would add 28 seconds to every phone or face-to-face transaction, costing the industry as much as $30 million per year in "talk time," training and lost sales.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah has agreed to offer an amendment to the bill when it comes to the floor of the Senate later this month that would limit disclosures to online transactions in some cases and make them subject to the client's request in others.
ASTA is asking travel agents to help get this amendment passed. Visit ASTA.org and fill out an online form that will generate a letter to senators, showing support for the Lee Amendment and emphasizing the burden this regulation would put on travel agents.
"We do not believe it is Congress' intent, nor is it in the public interest, that consumers be forced to listen to a multi-minute litany of disclosures if they wish to purchase tickets over the phone - especially frequent fliers who will have to listen again and again," said Eben Peck, ASTA's executive vice president, advocacy. "The Lee Amendment would simply limit disclosures to online transactions in some cases and make them subject to the client's request in others. We are optimistic that the Senate will adopt this common sense fix so that travel agents aren't unfairly burdened with these new disclosure requirements."
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