As the Trump Administration enters the White House promising a “new golden era” for the United States, I have five travel-related policy priorities I would love to see the new administration embrace.
My Top Trump Administration Travel Priorities
These five policy preferences are in no particular order.
Continued Investment In Airport + Air Traffic Control Infrastructure
We’ve already seen such a transformation of major US airports over the last decade and investing in American infrastructure like major airports has a tremendous spillover effect in positively impacting local economies and spurring interstate and worldwide commerce. Infrastructure is an expensive investment and often has no immediate gratification, but it pays off over the long term and if Trump is halfway serious about the USA entering a “new golden age,” then that should include functional world-class airports that are the envy of the world.
Case in point: Newark Terminal A or New York LaGuardia Terminal B…those airports have gone from dumpy and dilapidated to world-class.
We need to move with the same urgency for the Air Traffic Control system. Yes, and we must pay for it too…and that should come before another tax cut for the wealthy, even as the tech plutocrats appear to be foaming at the mouth for modern-day “salutary neglect” from the new administration.
All-In Fees For All Hotels, Resorts, And Lodging Like Airbnb
Trump talks about being a populist and is adamant about tariffs, which he thinks will protect American workers and businesses. I think tariffs are foolish barriers to trade that harm the very people they are intended to help, but one flavor of populism that I am happy to sign onto is mandatory disclosure of all taxes and fees, to minimize consumer confusion. Airbnb is egregious in baiting you with a deceptively-low price then sticking on fees that inflate it to the point that it does not make sense. This wastes consumer’s time. It’s time for transparent pricing by law, since Airbnb is dragging its feet.
A Merger For Spirit And Frontier Airlines
Hindsight is 20-20, but the merger with Spirit and JetBlue should have gone through and the Northeast Alliance between JetBlue and American Airlines should never have been blocked.
Spirit and Frontier, two so-called “ultra-low-cost” carriers are struggling. Legacy carriers have done a masterful job of competing with them and I worry about the survival of both carriers. I also believe both carriers provide essential competitive pressure in the US airline market and would love to see a stronger nationwide low-cost carrier that could challenge network carriers on their bread-and-butter routes and not lose money doing it.
Veto Durban’s Credit Card Competition Act
While I don’t think it has a chance in the GOP-controlled House or Senate, it’s time to put Dick Durban’s misguided Credit Card Competition Act out of its misery. Oh yes, I know some merchants would benefit from a reduction in credit card interchange fees through more competition, but the move would functionally destroy loyalty programs in the USA and I quite like the current system.
Lifting Of North Korea Travel Ban
I’m still very interested in visiting North Korea and I hope that Trump’s “bromance” with Kim Jong Un can be rekindled such that a sustained rapprochement can actually persuade the DPRK to give up its nuclear ambitions.
I’d love to check out those Air Korea Soviet-era jets while they are still airworthy, but Americans are banned from visiting North Korea right now by the US government. North Korea may still accept US citizens (and potentially use them as pawns), but North Korean tour companies will have nothing to do with Americans.
CONCLUSION
I have so much to say about all that has transpired in Washington, DC over the last 36 hours, but to avoid (further) alienating my readers, I am going to stick to travel for now. I think the five items above are not only realistic (and frankly not asking for all that much) but would aid and advance Trump’s “America First” agenda and lead to a better quality of life for all Americans who travel.
What would you like to see from the Trump administration, as it relates to travel?
image: screengrab from White House official inaugural swearing-in ceremony video
You can’t legislate stupidity and laziness, and that’s what I see this garbage about “All in pricing” being. If someone is dumb enough in 2025 to not understand this, no law is going to help them. Reading before clicking is their friend.
Of course prices will go up MORE than the current combination of rate plus fees because it will be an opportunity for businesses to blame it on government. It’s just how the business world works, and it’s great for shareholders like most of us.
You will also have the issue where those who don’t pay resort fees because of status (hotel, casinos etc) could lose these benefits using the law as an excuse.
I don’t think you’d call me stupid or lazy, would you? When I see a price come up from Airbnb, for example, I want to know what I will pay…not the base price when the extras are not negotiable. Asking for that transparency encourages a robust and vibrant free market.
Absolutely not, but you understand how the travel world works with resort and other fees and the reasons for them. Besides this can be a states issue if they really care. Go to Ticketmaster for some states like New York and it’s all in one pricing including fees..
Should this also happen for everything sold? How about buying a new car? An airline ticket? A sandwich at McDonald’s with taxes?
But I do agree with you on infrastructure all around. Win/win in every way.
Your examples about buying a car or a sandwich are not applied to what Mathew is asking. Yes, you can still show taxes separate but not all the BS that as mentioned you cannot negotiate. I just booked a hotel in Italy and the email I received shows one number: Booking total amount. That is all I care. I entered the check in and out dates, number of people in the room and I got the exact amount I would be charged at the hotel. All included. The email shows piece per day, number of days and total amount due at the hotel. Why is that so difficult to do in the US?
All I’m saying is go on any new car dealers website and look at the low prices. Then dig deeper and you will the price is nothing like that with destination fees, dealer prep fees, paperwork fees, multiple taxes and more. The final cost is nothing like the initial price.
Stop asking the government to get involved in everything, it’s how things get messed up in the first place, regardless of party in charge. And this isn’t Italy.
@Dave Edwards: You car example is very similar to an airline ticket. It details all the fees that are mandatory and you they have no control over it. Federal taxes, state fees, county fees, registration fees, etc… are usually not controlled by the business. It is part of living in a country with many taxes and fees. What we are talking here are BS fees, manufactured by hotels to scam customers. Parking lot fees (even if I don’t have a car), hospitality fees, resort fees, swimming pool chair fees, gym fees, etc… Sorry, these are scam fees. If a hotel wants to charge me $100 for a room but I have to pay BS fees that will add up to $50, I prefer to see they are charging me $150. Look at airlines, you actually see the full price including everything. I am OK with that. BTW, I don’t need the Government to do anything because I do myself. I never stay at a hotel that charges BS fees. Easy.
@Dave … Perhaps they see I am disabled , but in my experience “resort fees” or “hospitality fees” are negotiable at check-in .
I simply tell them I would rather “tip” generously , on my own volition … and ( surprisingly ) they agree .
If they pretend to not understand , I ask if they understand the word “police” ? Then they all agree . Once in Chicago , they did not agree at first , so I took a taxi to the nearest police station , and returned in a police car with two policemen , and then they agreed .
Believe it or not, that’s exactly how it works in most of the developed world. It doesn’t matter whether something is subject to VAT, special consumption tax (e.g. tobacco), administrative fees (such as for the registration of a new car) or whatever, the final consumer price must be clearly advertised in all promotional materials and pre-contract documentation. It’s not that hard to legislate or implement.
Exactly. It’s not hard or burdensome, and companies are still free to break out the tax separately if they think all-in pricing makes people immune to high taxes.
Lifting Of North Korea Travel Ban: time to get your German passport.
LOL. That’s going to take some time!
Why? I’m also trying to get my German passport.
Are you using a lawyer?
Because I have to go back four generations of US citizens to reach Germany and my father, now dead, cannot claim citizenship from his grandmother, and then pass it on to me.
And Germany is very strict with marriage passports…a multi-year residency in Germany is required.
Is it also true that you cannot keep German and US citizenships unless you had it by birth? I think some countries make you pick one if you decide to naturalize.
As of June 2024 Germany no longer restricts dual citizenship for someone who wants to naturalize in Germany or a German naturalizing elsewhere e.g. the US so that is not the issue.
To become German by marriage, you must reside at least 3 years in Germany.
I want a DE passport!
I echo your statement on airport investment. One priority of mine is improvements in airport security infrastructure. Travelers continue to face onerous, burdensome rules that are stuck in the immediate post 9/11 era. We need to invest in technologies to eradicate the liquids rules, shoes, etc.
Yes! Agreed.
I think we’ll be lucky to survive 4 more years of that rapist, felon who nearly broke the country last time he was in power.
Are you referring to the child sniffing pedo who showered with his teenage daughter or the wannabe preident who rose to the top by dropping to her knees?
“I have so much to say about all that has transpired in Washington, DC over the last 36 hours, but to avoid (further) alienating my readers, I am going to stick to travel for now.”
No! I want to hear more.
Improve the arrival experience for everyone at borders. If you don’t have global entry, it is an inefficient gamble.
Yes!
Why would Trump want to mandate all-in pricing? That only benefits consumers and they aren’t paying him any money. The hotel companies and owners don’t want all-in pricing and they’re they ones paying Trump, so they’re the decision makers. Don’t be silly.
Why didn’t the senile old bastard fix it then? Maybe it just doesn’t matter in importance in the country.
And NO, it won’t benefit consumers one bit, like price increases during Covid, smart companies will find way to make more off the legislation and increase prices more.
I find it amazing all the travel experts here, and I mean that as a compliment, can’t understand how things work in corporate America.
I certainly wish the Biden administration would have fixed it, but they didn’t. You may not think it will help consumers, but I look to every other developed market in the world outside of North America, and all-in pricing is generally the norm. I have a strong preference for this, and I can’t think of a reason a business wouldn’t include the all-in price unless they were trying to make their price look lower than it is. Do you prefer being shown prices before mandatory taxes and fees? I don’t, and I can’t think of many people who do.
And if you read my original comment, I think it’s fair to say that I do know how corporate America works. They get to pay the new president to do what works best for them. The concerns of consumers, citizens, or voters doesn’t matter. Regulation is the only way to get corporate America to change their ways, but for the next four years they won’t have to.
My wishlist:
Dismantle DHS and send the constituent agencies back to where there were in 2000.
Scrap TSA at airports and relegate it to a regulator and let the airlines and airports return to being in charge of passenger and baggage screening.
Eliminate passenger ID checks.
Grant every free person at US airports with PreCheck type screening by default.
I would like to see a stop to the erosion of frequent flyer mile value. SkyPesos must end. Awards should be prices lower. It is ok to me if it becomes harder to earn a mile but do not devalue what we have saved up. In other words, business class U.S. to LHR should be roughly 50,000 miles one way end of story. However, it is ok to me if one no longer gets 5 or 10 miles per $1 spent but it goes up to 2 to 5 miles per $1 spent. That is better than raising the award level. If you have old miles saved up, it will retain value. This will never happen under Trump or Harris.
ATC should be modernized. If money is spent wisely, it is ok if there is a new fee, such as a $15 one way fee to all airline tickets.
Let’s stop this fake service dog nonsense.
Oh my. The dog issue. How could I forget that?
And the idea of frequent flyer miles retaining the value of when they were earned is appealing (but also unappealing in other ways). I’ll explore that further in a future post.
We liberals have guns too. If it comes to war, I’ll be happy that I can legally kill Repugnants, rednecks, and hillbillies.
We got a badass over here lmao
Sure soy-boy, sure. How would you choose a gun when you can’t even choose your gender?
When you send in your list of priorities be sure to include the brown paper bag full of money