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      U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks during an event

      As Biden Takes On Airline Junk Fees, It's Worth Asking Why Buttigieg Didn't

      Buttigieg not only could have addressed this years ago, not only should have, but was explicitly directed by Congress to do so.

      Dylan Gyauch-Lewis
      Feb 24, 2023

      The Biden White House ushered in February with a new salvo of regulation targeting junk fees — those really annoying surcharges that don’t accomplish anything other than making the corporations more money. One particularly cruel example being targeted is a practice of airlines charging parents extra to be seated with their children. President Biden doubled down on the issue in his State of the Union address as well, saying that “airlines can’t treat your child like a piece of baggage.” Some airlines would charge customers to sit next to their children who were still in diapers.

      Already, President Biden’s efforts are seeing results; United announced this week that it would no longer charge families extra to sit with their children. While this is certainly a welcome development, it is also an extremely overdue one. Secretary Pete Buttigieg not only could have addressed this years ago, not only should have, but was explicitly directed by Congress to do so. Banning these kinds of abusive business practices is unquestionably a good thing, but asking why it took so long is also imperative to holding the government responsible for fulfilling its most basic duty: protecting the citizens it was designed to serve, especially those who are most vulnerable to the ploys of powerful elites.

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      Canceled Southwest Airlines flights appear on the monitors at LAX

      'They Are Just Mocking Pete Buttigieg': Southwest Promotes Executives After Historic Meltdown

      "That's the behavior of a company with no intention of changing course from management decisions that seek to enrich shareholders while leaving consumers holding the bag."

      Jake Johnson
      Jan 11, 2023

      After canceling nearly 17,000 flights around the Christmas holiday—the worst customer service meltdown in the history of the U.S. airline industry—Southwest announced this week that it is promoting several of its executives, a move that watchdogs decried as a slap in the face of the travelers impacted by the company's incompetence and greed.

      In a press release, Southwest said it is elevating five executives across different departments at the company, including network operations control and communications. The announcement came just over a week after the Southwest pilots' union published a scathing letter calling the corporation's management a "headquarters-centric cult" that has "eroded our company from within."

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      Canceled Southwest Airlines flights show on a monitor at Hollywood Burbank Airport

      Sanders Calls on Buttigieg to Hold Southwest CEO Accountable for 'Greed and Incompetence'

      "This is a company that got a $7 billion taxpayer bailout and will be handing out $428 million in dividends to their wealthy shareholders," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.

      Jake Johnson
      Dec 29, 2022

      Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday urged the Transportation Department to ensure Southwest's chief executive pays a price for mass U.S. flight cancellations that have left passengers and employees stranded around the country, throwing lives into chaos and drawing further attention to the company's business practices.

      "Southwest's flight delays and cancellations are beyond unacceptable," Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote on Twitter. "This is a company that got a $7 billion taxpayer bailout and will be handing out $428 million in dividends to their wealthy shareholders. The U.S. Department of Transportation must hold Southwest's CEO accountable for his greed and incompetence."

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