U.S. Senators Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) receive the September 2018 BAN Award for proposing to make flying more expensive by re-regulating the airline industry and forbidding certain fees for better service and options on flights.

The U.S. Senate’s version of the FAA reauthorization bill includes a provision authored by U.S. Senators Markey and Blumenthal that would regulate airline pricing. The provision, already rejected by the Dept. of Transportation, is known as the Forbidding Airlines from Imposing Ridiculous (FAIR) Fees Act.

The Consumer Choice Center’s Deputy Director Yaël Ossowski said: “supporters contend the FAIR Fees Act will benefit consumers, but the reality is it would force airlines to abandon the successful business model that has made commercial air travel the most affordable it has been in over 20 years.”

The award is given to highlight the Consumer Choice Center’s new#FreeSkiesAreFAIR campaign to try to protect affordable ticket prices for flyers.

“The range of new flight options, cheaper regional air carriers, and no-frills flights are making travel cheaper and better for consumers. Bringing the federal government in to set prices will only end up hurting the very consumers and constituents politicians seek to help,” said Ossowski.

“Eliminating or dramatically altering the current change fee structure would take the power of choice away from the consumer and allow the federal government to implement a one-size-fits-all approach to airline pricing. Given that consumers have very different preferences when they fly, whether with flexibility or upgrades, a uniform solution to airfare pricing does not meet the reality of what consumers demand.