Sen. Schumer Urges DOT To Require Upfront Baggage Fee Disclosure

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer on Sunday called on the federal Department of Transportation to reverse its decision not to require airlines to disclose baggage fees upfront.

The department announced Thursday it was withdrawing a proposed rule to force airlines to disclose baggage fees at the start of a ticket purchase rather than later.

The department said in a notice posted online that the rule would have been "of limited public benefit."

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"This is a Grinch act by the DOT as we're on the eve of Christmas," the Senate Minority Leader said.

Schumer said Sunday that scrapping the fee-disclosure rule would be "a Christmas gift" to the airlines. The Democrat urged the Department of Transportation to reverse course and restore "this common sense passenger protection."

"Give me one reason they shouldn't post the bag fees ahead of time," Schumer said.

Airlines are already required to disclose bag fees, but critics say the information is often hidden until after consumers have taken several steps toward purchasing a ticket.

Schumer says airlines collected $7 billion in baggage fees last year.