Secy. Buttigieg talks airline fees, Boeing, Biden admin.

Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi welcomes US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Market Domination to discuss the Biden administration's new consumer protections for airlines customers, also weighing in on Boeing's (BA) CEO changeup.

Buttigieg addresses the Department of Transportation's new rule targeting airline "junk fees," calling the practice of charging parents to sit next to their children "troubling" in "terms of severity." The rule aims to eliminate such fees across the airline industry. He notes that customers appreciate these consumer protections, suggesting they "build confidence in that sector instead of passengers being so frustrated all the time."

Boeing has picked Robert Kelly Ortberg to succeed Dave Calhoun as CEO starting in August following major safety concerns and federal investigations this year. "We'll be watching that leadership change closely," Buttigieg says.

"I want to know what steps he thinks can be taken and what he is committed to leading in order to make sure that Boeing puts safety and quality first," he tells Yahoo Finance.

Turning to the election, Buttigieg praises the Biden administration's economic approach. He argues that the administration has proven it's possible to be "pro-consumer" and "pro-little guy" while still being pro-business. He notes that while they fight for labor protections, "companies are doing great" and "everyone has been better off."

"These things can go hand in hand," he tells Yahoo Finance, emphasizing the administration's balanced approach to economic policy.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination.

This post was written by Angel Smith

Video transcript

The crackdown on junk fees at airlines.

Well, that continues.

Let's bring in uh Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg Mr Secretary always nice to get some time with you.

Another real interesting initiative by the Department of Transportation.

My question to you is this with these fees?

How much are airlines, I guess bilking passengers with these?

Like, how much does this become a profit center for these companies?

So what I can tell you is that we've gotten hundreds of complaints about cases where this has happened and it may not be the number one category of complaints in terms of volume, but it's certainly one of the most troubling in terms of severity, the idea that you get into a situation where you got to pay extra just to sit next to your kids.

And I think consumers are already kind of kind of grumpy about the practice that has developed of, uh, you know, feeling like your nickel and dime for, for every service on board a plane.

But we're talking about something much more serious than that.

Uh Just think about how frustrating, even scary it could be if you are separated from your kids in flight and how challenging it can be if you are told that either you got to pay or you find yourself haggling with another passenger and, and pulling a flight attendant into this as you're kind of begging or to, to be able to sit next to your kids.

Parents shouldn't have to deal with that.

I feel even more strongly about that now that I've flown with uh with my husband and our toddlers, that is a challenge, challenging thing enough without facing this.

So the rule would make it clear that when you fly, there's no extra charge to be sitting with your own kids.

A number of airlines have answered our calls and are already doing this voluntarily.

The rule would make that standard across the industry.

Mr Mr Secretary, we talked to a lot of uh CEO S of publicly traded airlines here at Yahoo Finance.

Do they know this stuff is happening?

Are they sitting in their ballrooms like rubbing their hands?

Like gee how can I get more profits out of each passenger?

I mean, or they just, I guess not surprised by this at all?

Uh You know, I've definitely raised this directly with some airline, ceos.

They don't seem to view it as the problem that we do, but we're guided by the complaints and the input that we're getting from passengers.

By the way, like all rules of this type, this is going to go to an open comment period where passengers can weigh in.

Airlines can weigh in too.

Uh, look, they have been fighting us on a lot of these rules, right.

We, uh, we did, uh, fee transparency.

Uh, we've done automatic refunds.

We're doing ancillary fees where you got to at least be able to get your money back on the wi fi if the wi fi didn't work.

Um, and it is frustrating when the airlines push back.

Notably, they have gone to court uh over the rule that we have on fee transparency.

Now, to me, if you're going to court of law saying that it will irreparably harm you to have to disclose the fees that you charge.

Uh to me, you're kind of telling on yourself in terms of your business model, but that's the posture they've taken and those processes work themselves through.

But what we do know is that passengers appreciate these passenger protections.

And I would argue they ultimately make the airline sector better off too because they build confidence in that sector instead of passengers being so frustrated all the time.

Uh Also Mr Secretary, we um we talked around the time of uh the door blowing off that Boeing airplane.

Now yesterday we had big news, Boeing has reported has announced New Seal, Robert Ortberg, a veteran of the aerospace industry.

When we talked last time you said something like that is a personal issue for you.

Have you scheduled a meeting with Mr Ortberg?

And what's your message to him as he takes over the helm of this iconic American company.

I haven't yet arranged to speak with the new CEO, but of course, we'll be watching that leadership change closely.

You know, we don't pick and choose a hiring decisions for a company like that.

But we are going to stress the importance of establishing the right kind of safety culture.

And when I do get the opportunity to speak with him, that will be my focus.

I want to know what steps he thinks can be taken and what he is committed to leading in order to make sure that uh Boeing put safety and quality first.

Uh The, there's been a lot of focus on the uh the analytics and the economics.

Uh All of that, of course is important for any company, but uh none of it means anything.

If you don't have safety and quality first, we've covered your whole time uh at dot uh Mr Secretary from start right up until now.

I only know you as a Department of Transportation Secretary, but you've now been rumored to be in the running for vice president.

I know you can't say much because of the Hatch Act.

I get it.

But you know, to the CEO S that watch Yahoo Finance, could you just tell us, tell them or speak to them about the economic agenda o of, of, I guess the Biden administration and, and how pro business is the vice president Uh Well, without getting into the campaign side, what, what I'll say is that you can expect a continued focus in this administration on sustaining the historic economic growth and job growth that we've experienced.

I think this demons, this administration has demonstrated that you can be pro worker, pro consumer, pro competition, pro little guy and business thrives too.

I mean, that's the thing.

It's not like uh profitability has somehow collapsed because we've been supporting workers and unions and better wages.

And, and the rest of it, on the contrary, everybody has been better off.

Jobs are up.

Companies are, are doing great at a time when we are also showing how serious we are about those labor protections of consumer protections.

These things can go hand in hand as they have for the last 3.5 years.

And the vice president under the president's leadership has been a key architect of that.

Lastly, I'm glad you mentioned infrastructure because your administration, the ban, I mean, and you have led a lot of these efforts, Mr Secretary in the EV industry.

Uh and you're going to, I believe uh be visiting a stent is battery uh factory tomorrow.

As you take a step back.

Do you just find it?

Bizarro that Elon Musk is not out here supporting the efforts of the Biden administration and that he's throwing his support behind President Trump who may come in here if he wins four years in the White house pull back that tax credit and maybe undermine a lot of the ev investments that this administration has made.

Yeah.

Again, I'll take care not to talk about the campaign side of things.

But you know, this administration has seen to it that the ev industry has flourished in this country, whether we're talking about new companies like Tesla or whether we're talking about some of the most traditional names in auto manufacturing in the big three making their moves to thrive in the future.

And we're doing this, we know not, of course, because there, there's climate benefit and because there's benefit to our economic security, just like China has worked to edge us out in the market.

Not I think because they are environment enthusiasts, but because they understand the strategic gains, we have gained so much ground.

And that's part of what I'm going to get to see tomorrow in Indiana.

You know, I first spent a lot of time in Kokomo and in uh in Howard County, Indiana during the time of the great recession, the auto crisis in 2009, I saw what it was like in that community as they were facing almost 20% unemployment and was uh we were worried that that unemployment rate could hit 40% if companies like Delphi and Chrysler went, went under it.

It's part of how I got into politics, politics to begin with was standing up for the rescue that, that kept Chrysler in business and kept really so many families in Indiana on their feet.

So it's an amazing full circle moment to go back to this place that was experiencing such economic pain when I first got deeply engaged there and now has a new factory because of the focus on evs and the jobs associated with them taking shape.

That will mean not just the people who work there, but thousands of people in that community are going to benefit.

And it's a great example of how this administration has broken the old false choice that you either care about climate or you care about jobs.

And instead it demonstrated that you create jobs by leaning into our clean future.

Great to get some time with you as always Transportation Secretary Pete Bogied, we'll talk to you soon.

Good luck on that trip to the Stance plan.

We'll talk to you soon.

Very much.