Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: U.S. senators urge Administration to promote airline competition, (Aug 24, 2016)
Organizations Mentioned:Southwest Airlines | U.S. Department of Transportation
By Greg Hammond, J.D.
U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) sent a letter yesterday to the Director of the National Economic Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation, urging that the Department of Transportation use its statutory authority to ensure consumers have unfettered access to airlines’ flight schedule and pricing information.
The senators are concerned that some airlines are taking steps to restrict consumer access to fare and schedule information on third-party price comparison websites. Delta, according to the letter, purportedly prohibits certain third-party price comparison travel websites from fully accessing the airline’s flight data. Similarly, Southwest Airlines has allegedly withheld its information from travel sites entirely. "This lack of transparency is forcing consumers to gather fare, schedule, and availability information directly from the websites of airlines partaking in this behavior, thus hindering the ability to easily compare information when booking travel, reducing the need for airlines to offer competitive products, and eliminating an important catalyst for pricing competition," the senators wrote.
These practices are damaging to consumers, the letter further states, and could potentially violate existing consumer protection laws that promote competition in the air transportation industry.
"As you know, E.O. 13725 directs departments and agencies to report to the President and to you, as Director of the National Economic Council, on specific actions they can take to support competition," the senators wrote. "We respectfully request information regarding what actions [the Department of Transportation] has stated it will undertake, pursuant to its ‘Agency Responsibilities’ in E.O. 13725, to ensure consumers can easily access accurate flight fare and schedule information."
News: Antitrust ConsumerProtection