Major U.S. airlines will not commit to increasing military travel benefits, USDOT says. By Reuters

David Shepherdson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Friday that major U.S. airlines have rejected promises to increase travel benefits for military members. This is the latest clash between the Biden administration and airlines.

Buttigieg urged airlines in April to do more for military members and pledged to publicize the issue on their dashboards, but major airlines including Delta Air Lines (NYSE:), American Airlines (NASDAQ:) and United Airlines “They refused to clarify,” he said. And it’s an enforceable promise to American service members and their families.”

Airlines that employ large numbers of veterans insist that USDOT go beyond measuring benefits, but some say they don’t want to add those benefits to their customer service plans. Failure to comply will result in USDOT enforcement action. That promise.

Airlines for America, a trade group representing the largest U.S. passenger airlines, said the dashboard “shows only a small portion of what airlines offer to service members” and “takes away the numerous benefits airlines already offer.” “It doesn’t reflect that,” he said.

The dashboard measures whether airlines voluntarily commit to waiving cancellation and change fees and guaranteeing full refunds to military members and families who cancel or reschedule their travel plans due to military orders. We offer some free baggage and lowest airfare to visiting service members who have recently been injured in the line of duty.

“Military members and their families make extraordinary commitments and sacrifices for this country and deserve support and recognition every time they fly,” Buttigieg said.

Six of the 10 airlines, including the three largest along with Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:), did not receive a green check mark from USDOT.

loyal and Spirit Airlines (NYSE:) received four checks and Frontier received three.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:) received two checkmarks due to its existing baggage and change fee policies that apply to all passengers.

Airlines and the Biden administration have clashed repeatedly on several aspects of customer service.

Earlier this month, major airlines sued USDOT over new rules requiring advance disclosure of airline fees.

Airlines for America filed a lawsuit last month challenging a USDOT rule requiring airlines and ticket agents to disclose service fees along with airfares. It said this would help consumers avoid unnecessary or unexpected fees.

USDOT has created another dashboard measuring different airline customer service benefits starting in 2022 and, at the direction of Congress, has created a new dashboard for minimum airline seat sizes.