Catching the By Don Mitchell Partner, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP Spirit is opaque. For that and other reasons they are under attack. The US Department of Transportation is moving to make reporting more transparent. A notice of proposed rulemaking setting guidelines for enhanced reporting was issued in July 2011 with public hearings held in May 2012. The final rule is expected within 24 months. While improved fee reporting benefits statisticians and industry watchers (and possibly tax collectors), what helps the passengers? Similar opacity is being attacked in the consumer arena as well. The US DOT Jetrader 17 Airline Ancillary Fees Under Attack The US Department of Transportation is moving to make reporting more transparent. A Ancillary fees are the gold rush of the decade. They have been a major contributor to the return of financial health to many airlines. In September 2012, Delta reported a third quarter profit of US$1.05 Billion. While US$440 Million of that amount was due to gains on fuel hedges, ancillary fee revenue was undoubtedly a big part of the balance. The Amadeus Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue projects that US domestic airline ancillary revenue will reach nearly US$12.4 billion in 2012. Exact figures remain uncertain because airline reporting of ancillary fee revenuehttp://www.relianceaircraft.com