[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3195 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3195

To prohibit air carriers from charging fees for carry-on baggage and to 
     require disclosure of passenger fees, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 12, 2010

  Mr. Cardin (for himself and Ms. Landrieu) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit air carriers from charging fees for carry-on baggage and to 
     require disclosure of passenger fees, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DISCLOSURE OF PASSENGER FEES; PROHIBITION ON FEES FOR CARRY-
              ON BAGGAGE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall complete a 
rulemaking that--
            (1) prohibits each air carrier operating in the United 
        States under part 121 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 
        from charging any fees for carry-on baggage that falls within 
        the restrictions imposed by the air carrier with respect to the 
        weight, size, or number of bags;
            (2) requires each such air carrier to make detailed 
        information about restrictions with respect to the weight, 
        size, and number of carry-on baggage available to passengers 
        before they arrive at the airport for a scheduled departure on 
        the air carrier; and
            (3) requires each such air carrier to make available to the 
        public and to the Secretary a list of all passenger fees and 
        charges (other than airfare) that may be imposed by the air 
        carrier, including fees for--
                    (A) checked baggage or oversized or heavy baggage, 
                including specialty items such as bicycles, skis, and 
                firearms;
                    (B) meals, beverages, or other refreshments;
                    (C) seats in exit rows, seats with additional 
                space, or other preferred seats in any given class of 
                travel;
                    (D) purchasing tickets from an airline ticket agent 
                or a travel agency; or
                    (E) any other good, service, or amenity provided by 
                the air carrier, as required by the Secretary.
    (b) Publication; Updates.--In order to ensure that the fee 
information required by subsection (a)(3) is both current and widely 
available to the traveling public, the Secretary--
            (1) may require an air carrier to make such information 
        available on any public Web site maintained by an air carrier, 
        to make such information available to travel agencies, and to 
        notify passengers of the availability of such information when 
        advertising airfares; and
            (2) shall require air carriers to update the information as 
        necessary, but no less frequently than every 90 days unless 
        there has been no increase in the amount or type of fees shown 
        in the most recent publication.
                                 <all>