Spirit Airlines, the ultra-low-cost carrier, is tacking a new $2 charge on its tickets and saying that the government made it do it.
The charge, which Spirit called the "Department of Transportation's unintended consequences" fee, is being added to most one-way fares in response to a new department rule that allows passengers to change their minds within 24 hours of booking a trip without paying a penalty.
The airline says the new rule forces it to hold spaces for travelers who may decide not to fly. Meanwhile, it says, other customers can't buy the seats, and ultimately, fares have to be raised to cover the costs of flying less-than-full planes.
"People love the idea of not having to commit to a reservation, but this regulation, like most, imposes costs on consumers," Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza says.
The Transportation Department isn't amused. "This is just another example of the disrespect with which too many airlines treat their passengers," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says. "Rather than coming up with new and unnecessary fees to charge their customers, airlines should focus on providing fair and transparent service -- that's what our common-sense rules are designed to ensure."
Spirit's move is its latest swipe against a series of federal consumer-protection rules the department imposed on airlines last month.
Spirit, which has built its business on offering rock-bottom fares as low as $9, has filed a lawsuit to try to block a rule that requires advertised fares to factor in government taxes and fees upfront for consumers. Those charges can boost a $9 Spirit flight -- from Atlantic City to Atlanta, for instance -- to $29.
Other U.S. airlines opposed some of the rules, but none has challenged them as Spirit has.
But Spirit has often been an industry renegade, as it has pioneered appealing to fliers who want low base fares and will pay fees for anything extra. Most carriers impose a fee for checking luggage, for instance. But Spirit also charges passengers for toting a bag on board.
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