What President Biden calls “junk fees” are getting out of control. I’m talking about mysterious $2,000 “destination charges” not reflected in the MSRP of new cars and trucks. Or $12 service fees Ticketmaster hits you with at checkout–for a $20 ticket. The President has authorized his FTC to go after these junk fees, and now he’s asked his Transportation Secretary–Pete Buttigieg–to take on the airlines.

There was a time–not so long ago–when you could request any seat you wanted on most airplane flights. Sure, first class cost extra. And then airlines began charging a bit extra to select the “extra leg room” seats at the front of rows. Seems fair. Then they all seemed to decide it was ok to hit you with a big fee for the privilege of requesting any specific empty seat at check-in.

Don’t pay the fee? You’ll end up in some random seat. For solo travelers, the biggest risk was ending up between some couple passing a takeout box of salad back and fourth while dropping croutons in your lap. But families face an even bigger challenge.

Let’s say a family of six wants to go on vacation. Even if the plane is nearly empty while they are booking, some airlines will charge them $25 a passenger to select a row of seats next to one another. That’s $150 for each flight. With one connection and a return trip, they could be catching four flights. That’s $600 in junk fees.

For some folks $600 is the difference between being able to afford to travel to visit family or not.

What’s the alternative? Accepting random seats and letting strangers deal with the kids. So for the sake of everyone involved, it seems wise to let families sit together. For free.

Buttigieg’s DOT proposed exactly that, for groups traveling with any children 13 or younger.

“What we’re doing is we are requiring that an airline not charge you extra to sit next to your kids — or your grandkids, it applies to any accompanying adults. We think that’s common sense…We’ve gotten hundreds of complaints over this issue since I got this job and we’re doing something about it.”

Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation

The DOT is taking advantage of an important window. It proposed the new rule as part of the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. But Buttigieg tried to avoid passing any rule at all. He called on the 10 largest airlines to ban these fees and seat families together for free. Alaska, American, Frontier and JetBlue changed their policies. Everyone else thumbed their noses at him.

The A4A, which represents seven major airlines, even pushed back. It said its members, “make every effort to accommodate customers traveling together — especially those traveling with children.” But a simple promise wasn’t enough for the DOT.

The FAA Reauthorization Act includes more controversial measures on junk fees. In April, the DOT proposed airlines disclose all service fees–including them in advertised ticket prices. American, Delta, United, and all the members of the A4A sued to block the rule. An appeals court said the DOT “likely” exceeded its authority and temporarily blocked the rule.