Airlines and their aviation media are touting the fact that airfares have dropped 5.6 percent on July vs. June, the largest monthly decline since the end of 1995. Amazing isn’t it. When consumers were shouting from the rooftops (Travelers Unites was leading the pack) airfares didn’t budge. But, once the Department of Justice (DOJ) started an investigation about airline price and capacity collusion, prices drop a record amount.
It is simply sad, that an industry has such a tin ear; especially, an industry that is made possible by support of American taxpayers and the government.
I’m rally glad that our organization had a hand in getting the DOJ to move forward with this investigation.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
