Nine of US's Orgs urge OMB to release rule protecting travelers from hidden airline fees.

WASHINGTON - Nine of the nation's largest consumer and travel organizations sent an unprecedented joint letter to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) urging the agency to complete work on and release a long-delayed airline passenger protection rule that may include a requirement for airlines to disclose their hidden ancillary fees for things like baggage and seat assignments. The rule was originally proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on April 4, 2011.

"After waiting more than 880 days for this important DOT rulemaking, our consumer organizations felt compelled to rattle the cage," said Charles Leocha, Director of the Consumer Travel Alliance. "The system isn't working when consumer issues like this can languish within the executive branch for more than two-and-a-half years.  OMB should finish this final bureaucratic review immediately, so DOT can publish the proposed rule for comments."

The organizations signing the letter included the Consumer Travel Alliance, Consumer Federation of America, National Consumers League, Consumers Union, Business Travel Coalition, AirlinePassengers.org, Association for Airline Passenger Rights, FlyersRights.org, and U.S. PIRG.