‘Terrible Experience’: Hawley grills airline execs for unfair fees, harassment

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) confronted executives of America’s major airlines today for charging billions in nonsensical fees and harassing passengers who have already paid for their flights.

“You guys do appreciate that flying on your airlines is a disaster, don’t you?” Senator Hawley remarked. “Flying on your airlines is horrible. It’s terrible experience.”

Senator Hawley specifically called out the corporate greed of Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines for charging customers radically different prices for bags.

” . . . You made clear that money is your bottom line—I get that. But, why is it that you’re charging some people, what, triple, quadruple the amount [for luggage]?” Senator Hawley asked.

Senator Hawley continued to press Spirit and Frontier’s executives on the “bounties” they have historically paid gate agents to enforce carry-on bag policies and penalize passengers—including kicking customers off of flights.

Senator Hawley previously questioned former Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun in June, pointing out his prioritizing of profit over safety, transparency, and quality.