Lawmakers are considering rolling back an Obama-era rule that requires airlines to show the total price of a ticket upfront in advertising, while also tweaking training requirements for airline pilots and making other changes in a massive bill covering the Federal Aviation Administration.
On Friday, Republicans and Democrats on the House Transportation Committee released a 773-page proposal to reauthorize FAA programs for the next five years.
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., described the proposal as a compromise and said many issues could still be fought out when congressional committees begin considering changes in the legislation next week.
One provision of the House bill would let airlines advertise the “base airfare” — excluding taxes and fees — as long as they include a link to the all-in price or disclose it some other way. That would weaken an Obama administration rule that airlines have long fought to kill, and consumer advocates are unhappy about the House move.
“These protections were hard fought and took years to enact,” said William McGee, an aviation expert at the American Economic Liberties Project. “Any consumer can tell you that online airline bookings are confusing enough. The last thing we need is to roll back an existing protection that provides effective transparency.”
The House committee leaders also propose to let people become airline pilots with less time in the cockpit. The bill would not change the requirement for 1,500 hours of training, but it would allow 250 hours — up from the current 100 hours — to occur in simulators rather than flying a plane.
Airlines, particularly the smaller ones that operate regional flights, have long fought against the 1,500-hour rule, which already has exemptions that let military pilots and graduates of some aviation schools qualify with fewer hours. The rule was put in after a 2009 crash that killed 50 people.
Garth Thompson, head of the Air Line Pilots Association unit at United Airlines, said it is “a horrible idea" to weaken the rule.
“That rule, like so many federal aviation regulations, is written in blood, literally,” Thompson said. “That regulation came about because of the Colgan Air crash and other crashes that involved experience issues.”
Asked about changes in airfare advertising and pilot training, Larsen said, “It's something we can live with.” The change in pilot training rules, he said, is a priority of the Transportation Committee's Republican chairman, Sam Graves of Missouri, and both sides had to compromise during drafting of the bill.
Elsewhere in the bill, Larsen said, Democrats were able to include provisions they wanted, such as those covering wheelchair accessibility.
The bill also includes provisions aimed at improving airport infrastructure and the supply of sustainable aviation fuel. It would require airline planes to be outfitted with better cockpit voice recorders and, for the first time, cockpit video recorders to improve accident investigations. Pilots have opposed the video recorders.
Some other contentious topics were left out, including raising the mandatory retirement age of 65 for pilots and easing restrictions on flights from Reagan Washington National Airport in northern Virginia.
With real estate being a largely male-dominated industry, Stephanie Shojaee, vice president and chief marketing officer at development company Shoma Group, joined Cheddar News to discuss how she took on the gender gap for women to achieve leadership roles, starting at her own company. “It's been very important to teach all the women that work here, especially the younger ones, that they shouldn't change themselves," she said. "You need to be happy with who you are and just keep breaking barriers."
We are already starting to feel the effects of summer. Heat waves in Texas and California are already sending temperatures soaring. That could spell trouble for the nation's power supply. there are new concerns about outages in many areas of the country. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier explains the two main causes of blackouts, and what states are doing to keep the lights on and the air conditioning running.
Pinterest is making a big move as it pushes further into online shopping. The image-focused social media site is acquiring A.I.-powered shopping platform THE YES as it focuses on enhancing the user shopping experience. THE YES's technology gives users a personalized feed of products based on their preferences, and Pinterest is banking on the tech to give it an advantage among other social media apps with built-in shopping features. Julie Bornstein, founder and CEO of THE YES, joins Closing Bell to discuss the company's unique technology, why it agreed to sell to Pinterest, her vision as she takes over shopping initiatives, and more.
Keith Barr, CEO of InterContinental Hotel Group, says he is expecting an 'incredible' summer for his business as pandemic conditions have normalized and people are ready to travel.
Dann Ryan, Chief Investment Officer at Sincerus Advisory, discusses what drove markets lower on Wednesday, as well as what investors are anticipating when it comes to the upcoming CPI report and Fed decision.
U.S. stocks close Tuesday at session highs after a subpar start to the trading day. Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer at the wealth advisory firm, Girard, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. 'We're starting to see the moderation of three core things -- we've seen the moderation of prices, we've seen the moderation of wage growth we've seen in the labor market, and we've also seen a moderation of job openings,' he says.
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A controversial professional golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia tees off on Thursday. Today, two-time Major winner Dustin Johnson announced he's resigned from the PGA Tour ahead of headlining the Saudi-backed tour, called the LIV Golf Invitation Series. The announcement comes as the PGA tour has threatened disciplinary action for its golfers who take part in the Saudi golf league event, which will also feature notable golf stars like Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia; however, LIV Golf's CEO, Greg Norman, told The Washington Post that Tiger Woods rejected a contract worth 'high nine digits' to play in the tour. Chris Bumbaca, reporter for USA Today Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
CreditCards.com senior industry analyst Ted Rossman compares the Apple Pay Later offering to similar four-step processes at Affirm and Klarna, and says this is a way for the tech giant to dive deeper into the financial industry.
