BTC News is conducting a survey and started an appeal against the Transparent Airfares Act of 2014. This is on the short list in the US House for inclusion on the Suspension Calendar prior to the August recess. This airline-drafted bill would reverse a U.S. DOT rule implemented in 2012 as a cure to misleading airline advertising.
The open letter circulated by BTC news reads:
Mohlomphehi John Boehner
Motsamaisi oa Lipuisano oa Ntlo
United States Ntlo ea Baemeli
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Boehner,
We the undersigned have learned that highly controversial H.R. 4156, the Transparent Airfares Act of 2014, is on the short list in the House for inclusion on the Suspension Calendar prior to the August recess. H.R. 4156 is contentious legislation that would harm millions of consumers by reversing a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) rule implemented in 2012 as a cure to misleading airline advertising. We urge you not to include H.R. 4156 on the Suspension Calendar.
Travel Industry and consumer groups were not alerted to the prospect of this legislation nor were they provided any opportunity for input. H.R. 4156 was rushed by voice vote through the House Transportation Committee on April 9, 2014 after just 9 minutes of discussion. There were no public submissions or debate. The haste that has accompanied this bill, with no hearings at which other stakeholders would have had an opportunity to inform Congress of their views and the flaws in this bill, is regrettable.
Now after steamrollering the bill through Committee, airlines seek to subvert the Suspension Calendar procedure. There is not one consumer group or business travel organization that supports this legislation; most have publicly criticized the process and the bill. This is not the harmonious naming of a federal building – the type of bill the Suspension Calendar is normally used for – but rather, H.R. 4156 arguably represents one of the most controversial aviation bills in a generation.
Indeed, The New York Times Editorial Board on April 22 criticized the bill in an editorial saying: “This push to mislead consumers is particularly galling since recent mergers, like that of American Airlines and US Airways, have made the industry less competitive.” Likewise, the Washington Post reported on April 24: Consumers have reacted to this bill in the same way their advocates have: Theyre dead-set against it.
This legislation is blatantly anti-consumer and serves no purpose, in our view, other than to mislead consumers about the real price of airfare. We urge you not to include this bill on the Suspension Calendar but rather insist on travel industry and consumer groups input and proper deliberation of this highly controversial legislation.
ka tieo,
Khoebo ea Khoebo ea Khoebo
Hickory Global Partners, LLC
Alexander Travel
Carroll Travel
Lifofane tse fetohang
Charlie Brown’s Goodtime Travel
Colpitts World Travel
Tsamaiso ea Tsamaiso ea Tsamaiso ea Khoebo
Mokhatlo oa Eaton
Event Solutions International
Five Star Travel
Fox World Travel
Global Travel Management/CLG
HealthCare California
HNL Travel Associates
Iron, Inc.
John S Stow Consulting, LLC
MSP Travel Group
Paradise Travel Planners
Tsamaiso ea Letsatsi
Sustainable Travel Company
Sutherland Global Services
Traveline Travel Agencies, Inc
KhaolakShare
UNIGLOBE Plus Travel Group
Leeto la Lefatše, Inc.
Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority
LXR Travel
Points South
The Expedition Development Company, Inc.
