Complaint Year Complaint
2023
United Airlines deceived us by displaying a popup for Fully Refundable Economy promising seat selection and
checked baggage at no fee. Their partner carrier under code share, Air Canada, then gave no checked baggage
and charged for seat selection.
2022
Charged $50 each for two personal items that fit under the seats, supposed to be free. No overhead space
available.
2023
I purchased the tickets from Lufthansa. The tickets clearly state that I am allowed 2 checked bags free per person.
The first leg of the trip is operated by United airlines and they are not honoring 2 free checked bags as stated on
the ticket.
2023
At check-in, United insisted I was required to pay a baggage fee despite the ticket clearly indicating no charge for
a first checked bag as well as me being a Star Alliance Silver Member (which entitled me to free first checked
bag). Upon reviewing the receipt, it is clear I was charged for a second bag, despite only checking a single bag.
2022
We booked a round trip flight to JFK through American Airlines since we have their credit card with a free
baggage benefit. The flight was operated by JetBlue. When we arrived at the airport JetBlue said we would need
to pay baggage fees even though we had booked through American with an American Airlines flight number. All
of American's regional flights are operated by other carriers and on past flights this benefit had always applied.
There was no indication that the baggage benefit would not apply to this reservation. My wife
and I would like a refund of $120 for the round trip baggage fee.
2022
My e-ticket indicated that a check in second bag would cost $100 when I went to pay online I was told I needed
to pay $225. At no time did the airline indicate that the second bag was $225. I received my e-ticket indicating
the second bag was $100.
This document contains a redacted sample of consumer complaints related to baggage fees. These complaints were received by the
Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection between November 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023 and are provided as
part of the issuance of Final Rule, Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees (RIN 2105-AF10). The contents of these consumer
complaints are displayed as received with personal identifying information redacted as evidence of consumer confusion on the subject of
baggage fees, as referenced in the preamble to the Final Rule.
Samples of Consumer Complaints on Baggage Fees
2022
We booked 2 tickets on May 2022. The confirmation email from united airlines generated in august 2022
said they we would get 2 checked bags for free. We are attaching this email. Once we went to the airport on the
day of our flight on December 6th, Lufthansa told us that we would only get one baggage for free, and we would
have to pay $100 per bag. United's confirmation stated that we had 2 baggages for free but we had to pay $200
for the same bags. Payment receipt attached. Lufthansa didnt accept United's confirmation email. Additionally
we have the return journey coming up soon, where we will need to pay the same.
2022
This ticket was purchased through Turkish Airlines. The ticket information clearly states the international transit
allows two free checked bags. At the United ticket counter, the customer service rep communicated only
one bag was free and that her airline was charging $100 for the extra bag.
2023
Eventually I went on the united app and there it said my ticket was a "Basic Economy" and I said wait how if my
confirmation email says economy. so I call the united customer service line and they said I am considered Basic
Economy not Economy like my email states and that I am not allowed a carry one only a personal item, I stressed
to them that that was deceiving because I was never given that information while booking and if I would have
known I would have never confirmed the flight. The person that is traveling with me is being affected as well
because we are traving to Canada from Texas and we need a carry on in order to fit bulky jackets and shoes for
the cold or possible ice or snow. If airless are going to partner with each other they need to give these terms
before booking, or ask the traveler to book directly with the other company.
2022
My husband and I took flight from Las Vegas to Amsterdam on December , 2022. We had a total of 6
baggage (3 per passenger). We decided how many baggages to take with us based on what was listed on KLM's
website at that time, see link below. https://www.klm.com/information/legal/fees- paid-options It was listed on
their website that for a flight from US to Europe the first bag is free and the first additional luggage is $60 and
the second one is $100. We were as a result expecting to pay $160 per person for the additional luggage or $320
total. We based our decision of how many bags to bring on these prices. When we got to the airport we were
charged $650 instead
2023
Delta website and baggage estimate showed that I was allowed to have two checked bag. A customer service rep
also confirmed that I was allowed two checked bag. However during check in, I was charged $100 for the second
bag. This is bad business practice and is a scam towards the consumers.
2022
I purchased two tickets on Jetblue. They had me accept the fair restrictions which explicitly included a carry-on
bag (see attached screenshot). However, 3 days before my flight, they emailed to say I could not bring a carry- on,
forcing me to pay $65 extra for a carry-on bag ($130 total). I contacted customer service and they apologized for
the misinformation, accepting wrong-doing (see attached screenshot) but refused to make any changes. Had they
correctly informed me before booking, I would not have booked the flights.
2022
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THE APP BOTH SAID FIRST CHECKED BAG FREE, THEN WHEN I GET
TO THE AIRPORT I GET CHARGED $75 CHECKED BAG FEE AND THEN ANOTHER $69.40 FOR THE
RETURN FLIGHT HOME.
2023
When buying a ticket for this flight the customer service resprensentative informed that a bag included in ticket
and when I get to the airport I was charged 45 USD for the checked bag with the only explanation that the ticket
didn't include it and there was nothing they could do.
2023
I am requesting an enforcement order for unfair and deceptive practices under 14CFR399.85 and 49USC41712. -
Zero disclosure if any checked baggage fees without first fully purchasing ticket. - Provision of inaccurate
information to Partner Airline (Alaska Airlines) and failure to uphold their partner award travel agreements. -
Surprise fees at the airport and surprise increased fees for Alaska partner airline tickets booked on Latam - Does
not provide accurate information to consumers at the time of booking through any means
2023
Website showed the fees of additional bag as 70$, when I asked to pay for my additional bag I was charged 225$,
they said the system showed that much, never told me why, the agent said it's the high season while on their
website it's not, and the customer support on the phone said because it's a roundtrip, although it's not, what it was
actually is a misleading info on their front page. they changed that now to say "STARTS from 70$" I filed a
complaint reference # , their reply was not even concerning the same topic, and talked about I
did not show up "as if it is an answer to another complaint"
2023
I recently purchased tickets on Priceline for my family to travel to Europe on SAS with Priceline. When we
booked the ticket, the website said that 1 checked bag was included with each ticket (I have the screenshot
[INVALID] not from my actual flight but from the same flight in a future date). When we showed up at the
airport, SAS told me that the bags were not included and I was charged $633 round trip for the bags. The lady at
the counter said that this unfortunately is a "scam" that Priceline routinely runs. The screenshot clearly says 1
checked-in bag is included. They keep telling me "included does not mean free". I'm like then please explain to
me what it means. They keep playing it as if I don't understand English. They tell me that they will not refund the
cost of the bags. What options do I have here?
2022
Upon checking in at the counter, I was charged $120 for each of the two pieces of luggage I was checking. At no
moment when I purchased the ticket through JustFly.com was this baggage policy communicated to me. I was
given a generic link to each airline's baggage policy (the last two legs were flown by Azul). JetBlue states that
their interline agreement with Azul requires that checked bags be paid at the counter, but were unable to provide
me with specific documentation about that or the $120/unit fee. This charge was also never explained or
identified when managing my reservation on their website. At this point, none of the parties have offered me any
actual documentation of this policy, neither at the time of purchase nor at the present moment. This is in violation
of DOT requirements and I demand a full refund of $240. Since JetBlue collected the $240, I am naming them in
this complaint. I would not have purchased this airfare had I known of this additional expense[INVALID]this is a
classic bait and switch.
2022
United Airlines violated the travel/flight ticket contract between us, by letting the carrier (Turkish) charge me
baggage fee although their ticket and booking confirmation stated that there would be -0- charges, meaning they
stated that I have 2 free checked bags included in my ticket (see attached email confirmation from United) . This
ticket is a Business Class ticket and it always comes with free luggage, even Economy Premium tickets cover
free luggage all the way through the itinerary (as I traveled this route several times before). Turkish Airlines
ground staff were also quite surprised with the fact that United ticket was asking them to collect a fee of $for
each luggage that is checked in. I am a frequent flyer on Turkish Airlines and they never charge me for any
checked bag on any flight let alone business class ticket. They were not able to process my check in unless I paid
for my bag and they could not find a way around it. I checked in 1 bag instead of 2 that I was actually allowed to
check in free (and had to send the second bag back with my husband). This caused both stress and also
inconvenience for me as I was going to take 2 checked bags with me. After my flight I contacted United on
SEVERAL occasions through their Customer Service line and each time I asked for the reason why their ticket
states -0- charges for 2 checked bags but I was asked to pay $165, they blamed Turkish Airlines for charging me
and they said they could not do anything about it. This is ridiculous as my flight ticket contract is between United
and myself, with Turkish only being the carrier and having to have a business contract with United on baggage
charges. United was claiming that they have NO control over this and that the charge was NOT requested by
them, but by Turkish. So how can an airline state 2 FREE checked bags and surprise the passenger with
outrageous bag charges at the airport, without even taking the responsibility. I want my $165 back, and PLUS a
free flight coupon for the cost of the leg of flight I took on that day, which is approximately $1200.
Complaint Year Complaint
2022
I booked a flight on "Flyus.com" to travel from Chicago, United States, to , Pakistan on December , 2022,
via Turkish Airlines. Yesterday, I found out that one of my connecting flights was cancelled by Turkish Airlines. I
immediately contacted Turkish Airlines, who told me that I would have been fully refunded if I had not booked
through "Flyus.com." They told me I had to speak directly to "Flyus.com" to get my refund. I called "Flyus.com"
several times throughout the day, but after an extensive wait, an automated message told me that the call will be
disconnected, and they will reach out to me themselves. I found this to be extremely strange, especially given their
"24/7 customer service" advertisement. No one has contacted me so far. Naturally, I started reading their reviews
online to get a better sense of the company, and I came to realize that they have duped a lot of customers. As it turns
out, flights booked through this website miraculously get cancelled, and then they charge an arm and leg to refund. In
my case, they will charge me a minimum of $250 to cancel and refund international tickets, even though the flight
was cancelled by the airline, and the airline will issue them a full refund. What is even more strange is that, in
addition to charging for the flight cancellation, they charge a discretionary $25 - $75 to fee to determine if the flight
can even be cancelled. Lastly, I am seriously doubtful that I will get the refund any time soon, even if it issued. This
entire company is a scam and any rudimentary search on Google or other search engine will reveal the extensive
number of customers they have defrauded. I am beyond shocked that shoddy companies like this are allowed to
operate and deceive unsuspecting customers like myself. I would like to request that the Department of
Transportation help me obtain a full refund from this fraudulent company. Thank you.
2022
I booked a flight on Allegiant via GoToGate.com. I called to change the flight and the person I spoke with said my
flight had been canceled by the airline. That was odd because I have no confirmation saying that it had been
canceled. It's still appearing on GoToGate's website. But the Allegiant site has no record of it. GoToGate said they'd
issue me a refund but that they have to charge me a $34 processing fee. I shouldn't have to pay anything when this
airline allegedly canceled my flight. I want my money back.
Samples of Itinerary-Related Fees (Including Fees for Ticket Changes and Cancellations)
This document contains a redacted sample of consumer complaints related to itinerary-related fees, including fees for ticket changes and
cancellations. These complaints were received by the Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection between
November 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023 and are provided as part of the issuance of Final Rule, Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary
Service Fees (RIN 2105-AF10). The contents of these consumer complaints are displayed as received with personal identifying
information redacted as evidence of consumer confusion on the subject of itinerary-related fees, including fees for ticket changes and
cancellations, as referenced in the preamble to the Final Rule.
2023
To whom it may concern, I am writing to express my disappointment with Frontier Airlines regarding a recent
booking experience. During my visit to the airport ticket counter, I was charged an additional $25 per passenger for
"Agent Assistance". I believe this fee is unfair and unjustified. As a customer, I chose to book my tickets at the
airport to avoid the "Carrier Interface Charge" of $23 per leg. Per the Frontier website, this charge is assessed on
bookings made through Frontier's website. In the past, to avoid this fee, the way to circumnavigate it would be to
book the flight at the airport during the times the ticket counter is open. However, by charging an additional fee of
$25 per passenger as an "Agent Assist Fee" for booking at the airport, Frontier is essentially nullifying the incentive
to book at the airport in the first place and is essentially making it impossible to avoid a "fee" to book the fare,
making the advertised low "fares" deceptive. In my opinion, this fee is not only unfair but also defeats the purpose of
offering a fee-free booking option. Frontier Airlines should be transparent with their pricing and not apply additional
fees that are not disclosed upfront. If Frontier Airlines is unable to waive the Agent Assistance fee for bookings made
at the airport ticket counter, I feel that this should not be a fee, but in fact be built into the fare price. Fees are
appropriate for ancillary service such as bags and seat assignments, which can be circumnavigated by not bringing a
bag on board or waiting until check-in for a seat assignment. As evident, it is impossible to avoid some sort of
booking fee in my situation [INVALID] I was already at the airport, so I decided that I would pay the fee regardless
as I had already spent much of my time to book this itinerary. I followed up with the Frontier Airlines customer
service team via chat. They confirmed that this fee I was charged is appropriate and justified. I did not argue with
their team, as I decided the agents may not be as familiar with the purposes and legal considerations surrounding a
"fee" with the fare. I would like to request a refund of the Agent Assistance fee that was charged to me, as I feel that
this fee is unjust and is not aligned with Frontier Airlines' commitment to provide affordable and transparent pricing
to its customers. I would also appreciate further transparency and clarification on these fees charged to passengers, as
the website has no reference to the Agent Assistance fee being charged to passengers wishing to purchase a ticket at
the counter; it appears to be vague intentionally so there is agent discretion on administering this fee. Thank you for
your attention to this matter. Sincerely,
2022
Swiss Air Ticket I purchased a one-way ticket on Swiss Air on October 2022, for a flight from San Francisco to
Athens departing November , 2022, for the amount of US dollars $ For personal reasons. I cannot travel on
that date. I contacted Swiss Air (I made voice recordings) to rebook me on a later date,I found a ticket for the same
value (I kept a copy of the future ticket price and date) Please keep in mind that when I booked and purchased the
ticket, the swiss air website indicated that I can Rebook without a fee (I have a copy) They asked me to pay an extra
$1298 on top of the original $ to rebook; otherwise, I will lose the $ I already paid. The nasty thing is
that Swiss Air will not keep credit for the amount I paid for future travel. So either I rebook for an enormous increase
in price, or I lose my money. I consider the policy of the swiss air despicable and plain theft, and I appeal to you to
protect me and all the other Americans who are treated that way. this practice is a ripoff. Kind Regards,
2022
Frontier has posted on their website that you can change your flight 60+ days in advance with no fees, except the
change in airfare. However, upon booking a flight, they're trying to charge me $99 even after I provided their own
posted policy. I have attached screenshots of the chat and the posted policy. If the enforced policy was posted, many
people would make a different choice. I booked these flights based on the incorrect and deceptive
marketing/information provided on their own website.
2022
A typographic error was made of my last name when cooking on their app. It was misspelled but should have
been . We couldn't fix it on the app. At the airport they charged $135.00 to do a "name change ". The ticket
agent said they could not waive he fee. Frontiers web page says it should be $75.00 for a name change. This was a
correction of a typographical error and not a change. Because TSA would not have let me fly unless it got fixed it
was a forced fee and they overcharged.
2022
Our original flight was canceled on our itinerary. We called Luftansa and they created a new itinerary and sent us a
confirmation email. They are now saying we have to pay $8,972 to rebook. They canceled our flights, we did not.
They are saying we now have to pay to rebook. This is 24 hrs notice and they are refusing to issue our ticket. This is
against all US carrier rules.
2023
I have an non-refundable itinerary booked for LKO-DEL-SFO for 1/ /2023 that cost $7000. In order to change the
date of the flight to 3/2/2023, Air India wants to charge $5000. A new one way ticket for that route costs $1500.
2023
Flight was canceled within 24 hours via the internet. Confirmation call with the airline was also made within 24
hours to confirm cancelation and refund. Airline now is insisting on a $380 cancelation fee.
2023
CANCELLED $14,515 RESERVATION BOOKED THRU AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINUM AND THEY
WANT TO CHARGE ME $5,240 CANCELLATION FEES AGAINST MY REFUND. NO SPECIFIC
MONETARY PENALTIES WERE DESCRIBED ON THEIR WEBSITE AT THE TIME OF THE BOOKING. NO
TRANSPARENCY OR DISCLOSURE OF SPECIFIC MONETARY PENALTY. PLEASE SEE ATTACHED
FILE.
2023
Changed flight taking advantage of a non-change fee fare ( THE WORKS ). Because change was not available
through Frontier's Website or App, a Chat was initiated as no Phone Support exists anymore for Frontier Airlines.
(Error reads "This transaction requires additional processing. Please contact our chat agents.") CHange required only
the cost differential between the flights ($112 to $155 at time of boking) and was assured no fees were being chaged
but was informed change of fare would be $64, as the price of flight was higher than listed online. When booked and
a receipt was sent, it became clear this is because a $35 Agent fee was asessed. Frontier agrees I should not be
charged this fee, but denies that I was charged this fee. They were sent the receipt and circled screen shots but
somehow still deny the fee was charged. After 3 back and forth exchanges with their Customer Support e-mail it
became clear they are unable to make proper sense of customer receipts nor communicate effectively with their
passengers. The customer support issue is a challenge and seems disingenuous given questions are asked directly and
flat out lies are returned to customers. I am requesting my $35 fee to be refunded as the fare clearly states
CHANNGES bear no fees. It is important however the DOT is aware at the lack of actual customer support being
available to fliers and the deceptive nature Frontier presents to their customers.
2023
I attempted to purchase three round trip tickets at the frontier ticket counter this evening. The agent gave me a paper
to fill out, took my information, processed, then told me that they no longer accept in person ticket purchases (I did
this to avoid the carrier interface charge). The frontier website clearly states this fee is only assessed online and
through call centers. I then proceeded to chat with an agent who told me I could only book online. This again is
different from what frontier's public policy is. I'm frustrated that I spent 2 hours on this today and frontier refuses to
find a resolution.
2022
I had 2 tickets booked. Prepaid for seat upgrades and luggage. Positive Covid test so I cancelled on 12/6. Their new
text contact system is the worst, but my complaint is the took the entire $369 as cancellation. Their web site states
$99 per person. They claim $99 per person each segment This airline is the worst. According to them my luggage fee
and seat upgrade fees were needed on top of the entire ticket cost. You've already heard enough about them so I don't
know what else I can add
2022
I was charged 50$ to get my airline tickets printed. Due to the fact that there were no kiosks and no customer service
phone number/helpline I was forced to go to the front desk and have a frontier agent print my ticket. They then
proceeded to charge me an agent assist fee of 25$ per ticket to just print my tickets. This was rather discriminatory
due to the fact that I can barely work my phone and do not have access to printers. This is not fair to the community
of people like myself who are not "tech savy" or for the elderly community. This is just another way for these airlines
to pocket more money. My daughter filed this complaint.
2023
Hello, I am lodging a formal problem about my flight with United Airlines in regards to fee that I was charged.
essentially when filling out my flight information I accidentally made a mistake with my middle name (which was not
required passenger information), in which i misspelled as . In an effort to do my due diligence I reached
out to update this mistake immediately after I noticed it and as a result was charged 200 dollars to make the
adjustment. I find this to be a charge that was not in proportion to the mistake, especially when I was trying to save
myself an issue with the TSA and make sure my information matches my ID. There was also the issue with the fact
that they wanted me to provide my credit card information to pay for this charge over the phone instead of over a
secure internet link. While I was able to get them to send me a paypal charge to pay instead of doing it over the
phone, this seems like sketchy conduct by a professional flight line.
2023
We got an illness and needed to change our flight to a day later. We logged-in to the Southwest airline site. We were
shown false ads, bait and switch. Their screen is BIG Letters says to $0 there is no fee to change your flight. That
means no cost $0 dollars. Then they charged me $171. This is at best confusing and false. See attached image. We
want the $171 issued as a credit and compensation for the headaches. I contacted Southwest Customer service at 800-
435-9792 and no refund. They need to spell out the pricing/costs.
2023
I paid extra for my flight to be changeable, but when I called to try to make a change they wanted to charge me a
huge fee. The difference between flights on their website is currently $105 per passenger difference, but I was quoted
$525 each. When I asked to speak to customer service I was told that there is no customer service department to
speak with
2022
Ticketing Practices: Frontier charges a Carrier Interface Charge/Fee (CIC) to purchase tickets online. Previously, to
avoid the fee, you could purchase tickets at the airport. Recently, Frontier added a $25 fee for tickets purchased at
the airport. Since there is no way to avoid either of these fees, they should be part of the ticket price and taxed. It
appears that Frontier is attempting to avoid paying its shares of taxes! The U.S. DOT should look into this.
2023
I paid for the ability to change my flight plans without any change fees. Airline would not honor this ability and
charge $240 in to change the flight.
2022
Cancellation fee were charged on a flight that shouldn't have had any such charge due to type of flight that were
purchased and there policy.
