Under federal law, the department has the authority to stop airlines from engaging in"unfair or deceptive practices" and Buttigieg"may order airlines and ticket agents to stop such practices and may issue fines of up to $37,377 per violation," said Warren and Padilla.
Forty-four years after the deregulation of the industry, just four airlines—American, Delta, United, and Southwest—"The secretary of transportation must grant these airlines the 'economic authority' to operate and must approve any transfer of operating certificates to another carrier, authority that gives the secretary de facto merger-blocking power," said Warren and Padilla.
The letter comes a month after Sen. Bernie Sanders and Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, The federal government wields extraordinary leverage over airlines and could, at any time, crack down severely on their behavior. Unlike other large corporations, private airlines are not particularly popular with Americans. Amazon or Disney arouse warm feelings; Delta and American Airlines conjure hellish waits in overstuffed terminals and seats with hardly enough legroom for toddlers. There is both a political and moral case to make that aggressively targeting airlines is necessary.