Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Criticizes Airline Executives for “Disastrous” Service
Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, severely criticized airline executives during a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on Wednesday. The executives from American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Spirit Airlines, and Frontier Airlines were grilled about their companies’ increasing fees on customers.
Hawley expressed frustration, stating that flying on the airlines is a “disaster” for Americans. He shared a personal anecdote about his family’s experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, where his wife was threatened by an American Airlines flight attendant when their young son’s mask slipped. Hawley noted that this is not an isolated incident, and families have repeatedly faced similar harassment.
The senator also condemned the airlines’ practice of charging customers unknown fees, saying, “You harass them to death.” Hawley demanded that the airlines take responsibility for their subpar service, stating that the American people have had enough.
Chairman of the subcommittee, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., concurred with Hawley, saying that airlines view customers as “little more than walking piggy banks to be shaken down for every possible dime.” Blumenthal described the outrage at the hearing as “dramatic” and bipartisan.
Hawley’s criticism marks a rare instance of bipartisanship in a Senate hearing, as Democrats and Republicans alike expressed their frustration with the airlines’ practices.