(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) In an appearance on CBS Mornings, the CEO of Delta Air Lines explained that government interference could further increase prices and cause more damage to the crisis in the travel industry.
CEO Ed Bastian said it was “common business logic” that amplified government regulation would increase prices for flights.
“There’s no question if there is another layer of government regulation and cost that’s introduced into the system, it’ll eventually find its way back into ticket prices,” Bastian said.
President Joe Biden introduced additional regulations that would “require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control,” Breitbart reported.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg claimed that “passengers should not foot the bill” when an airline cancels or delays a flight.
The law would extend beyond refunds, vouchers and other forms of refunding customers for their missed flights. The 10 largest U.S. airlines said they would provide cash or voucher refunds to passengers with cancelled or delayed flights in addition to comping hotel rooms for stranded customers.
The law came from the Congressional Government Accountability Office as a response to an unprecedented increase in airline cancellations.
Bastian clarified that Delta compensated “hundreds of millions of dollars for customers” last year.
“We do it at Delta because its great service… you know if something goes awry Delta’s going to be there for you,” Bastian said.
The current administration has done very little to regulate airlines, likely because Buttigieg spent a good amount of time and money gaining the good graces of airline executives. The secretary granted the industry $14 billion in subsidies and refused to regulate them in the months leading up to the Christmas airline debacle.
A few weeks after the crisis, 38 state attorneys general sent a letter asserting that Buttigieg’s Department of Transportation has created an environment that “allows airlines to mistreat consumers and leaves consumers without effective redress.”
The administration has made no other moves to regulate airlines.
