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.
At-home medical labs company Getlabs raised $20 million in a Series A round, led by Emerson Collective and the Minderoo Foundation. Getlabs aims to be the boots-on-the-ground partner to telehealth. The company says more than 70% of medical decisions still require collecting diagnostic tests in person, and that it fills that void by delivering health care directly to their patients' homes. Founder & CEO of Getlabs Kyle Michelson joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The White House laid out plans for a $5 billion investment into a national network of charging stations to ease EV driving anxiety. Bruce Brimacombe, CEO of EV infrastructure GOe3 joined Cheddar News to discuss how much needs to be done for drivers to get over the fear of running out of energy. "People need to be able to do what they're doing now," he said. "But that is the way that if you're going to buy an electric car, you got to feel like you're not changing your world." Brimacombe noted that building out the infrastructure between cities was GOe3's own focus.
U.S. automakers are saying that the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, a crucial border crossing between the U.S. and Canada, is affecting their production lines. Michelle Krebs of Cox Automotive warns that the disruption "couldn't come at a worst time," amid chip and labor shortages in Detroit.
AND DETROIT-BASED AUTO MAKERS SAY THEY ARE SHUTTING DOWN PLANTS OR SCALING BACK PRODUCTION BECAUSE OF PARTS SHORTAGES.
Sonos reported better than expected Q1 earnings amid chip shortage with the release of its Roam product. CFO Brittany Bagley joined Cheddar News to discuss the smart speaker maker's successful report and its plans to hit its 2024 targets as people leave their homes as pandemic restrictions ease. "Even as people head out in the world, it doesn't mean they don't like to listen to music at home or watch a streaming movie at home," she said. "So there's still a real role for us and our products in peoples lives, sort of, no matter what else they're doing."
Lynn Martin, president of the NYSE Group, explains why investors at the New York Stock Exchange should still feel confident despite the recent Wall Street volatility and discusses the landscape for 2022 when it comes to IPOs and retail investors.
The merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery received Justice Department approval on Wednesday, and Patty Hirsch, EVP of consumer and digital platforms at WarnerMedia, joined Cheddar News to discuss current and future offerings from the media conglomerate that will control both HBO Max and Discovery+. "Content really drives so much, and CNN has always had a very long history of creating an incredible documentaries, incredible content … and this service I think is going to ultimately provide the kind of content consumers want and the kind of content that consumers are going are going to pay for," she said. Hirsch also discussed NFTs in use through its Turner Sports and DC brands.
Black entrepreneurs lead the way in the creation of new businesses, but they often cannot get the necessary funding to get their business off the ground. The Fearless Fund is on a mission to change that, and help Black business owners get venture capital. The fund also offers a unique grant program meant to help entrepreneurs with growth, peer coaching, and more, including grants between $10,000 and $20,000. Arian Simone, Co-Founder and General Partner of Fearless Fund, joins Closing Bell to discuss the Fund's mission, how it helps Black entrepreneurs, and more.
Multinational food company Kellogg’s reported an earnings beat amid supply chain issues and an extended labor strike. Kellogg’s Chairman and CEO c joined Cheddar News to discuss overcoming the obstacles and what's to come for the company. "The first half of the year is really going to be one about rebuilding inventory, and into the second quarter, starting to reestablish promotional activity for our customers and our consumers," Cahillane said. "And then the back half of the year, obviously, we're really much more back in business, and we expect to exit the year with our business in cereal being just as strong as it's ever been."
Sting has sold his catalog of more than 600 songs for $300 million to Universal Music. The deal gives the label the rights to all of his work, including “Every Breath You Take," as well as all future royalties.
Miller Lite is opening the first branded bar in the metaverse, by way of Decentraland, as a way to advertise during the Super Bowl this year without buying an expensive TV commercial slot. Sofia Colucci, global vice president of Miller Family of Brands, joined Cheddar to talk about the new marketing concept. "We have a lot of great partnerships with NFL teams throughout the year but were shut out of advertising during the Super Bowl game, so this pushes us to think creatively and also think of what feels really relevant right now," Colucci said. "There's no question that there's a lot of excitement with the metaverse, and we wanted to participate but in a way that felt right for Miller Lite."
