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Washington D.C. – Further fueling the corporate judge shopping crisis, last night the right-wing Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of top U.S. airlines over consumers by blocking the U.S. Transportation Department’s final rule requiring carriers to be transparent about bagging, flight change, and cancellation charges – an effort expected to save flyers over half a billion dollars a year. The Fifth Circuit gave yet another wealthy industry exactly what it wanted after a string of industry-friendly rulings in its jurisdiction for predatory lenders, self-interested Wall Street hedge fund managers, discriminatory big banks, greedy credit card issuers – with Big Pharma likely soon to follow. 

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The Biden-Harris administration’s cost-lowering action against hidden airline junk fees is beyond reasonable for an industry notorious for nickel and diming families to help fuel executive compensation and bonuses. But the big airlines consider more transparency about what they actually charge Americans as an affront to profits, so they went judge-shopping in the right-wing Fifth Circuit for a bailout. Predictably, the favorite jurisdiction for greedy corporations was all too happy to give the airlines what they wanted at the expense of everyday consumers.”

Caroline Ciccone, President, Accountable.US

The Fifth Circuit stay of the Transportation Department rule comes despite the airline industry’s own consultants’ boasts that ancillary fees, including baggage and seating fees, would reach a global record of $117.9 billion in 2023, far past the previous record of $109.5 billion in 2019. And a recent analysis of lobbying data from Accountable.US found that Airlines for America—a trade group representing major airline companies—and six major airlines that took over $40 billion in federal pandemic aid, spent over $20.3 million while lobbying against efforts to rein in junk fees charged by airlines.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON AIRLINE EXECUTIVES BEHIND ANTI-DOT LAWSUIT: 

  • American Airlines: CEO Robert Isom made nearly $31.5 million in total compensation in 2023. That same year, American Airlines reported record revenue of approximately $53 billion. 
  • United Airlines: In 2023, CEO Scott Kirby made over $18.5 million in total compensation. In 2023, United Airlines reported profits increased 255% to $2.6 billion. This profit came after the company saw operating revenue increase 19.5% to $53.7 billion, with “other operating revenue” increasing 15.4% to nearly $3.2 billion. 
  • Delta Airlines: In 2023, Delta Airlines CEO Edward Bastian made over $34.2 million in total compensation — $24.6 million more than 2022.
  • JetBlue Airlines: In 2023, CEO Robin Hayes made over $10.7 million in total compensation — over $7.3 million more than 2022. 
  • Hawaiian Airlines: In 2023, CEO Peter Ingram made over $4.5 million in total compensation, over $1.5 million more than 2022.
  • Alaska Air Group: In 2023, CEO Ben Minicucci made over $10.3 million in total compensation, over $3.8 million more than 2022.

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