Update on Class Action against airlines for wrongful collection of Mx. Tourism Tax.

As I predicted:

:ORDER granting 88 Motion to Dismiss; granting 89 Motion to Dismiss; granting 93 Motion to Dismiss; granting 97 Motion to Dismiss; granting 102 Motion to Dismiss; and granting 103 Motion to Dismiss to the extent that they seek dismis sal of Plaintiffs' Complaint based on its failure to set forth a cognizable claim for relief. Because amendment of the Complaint would be futile, Plaintiff's 155 Motion for Leave to Amend is DENIED and the Complaint (dkt. No. 1) is her eby DISMISSED. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to correct the name of Defendant "Delta Airlines" to "Delta Air Lines, Inc." upon the docket of this case. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to enter the appropriate judgment of dismissal." and to close this case. Signed by Chief Judge Lisa G. Wood on 2/19/2016. (csr)

Would you kindly restate this in layman language?

It's about as layman as it can get.

What's to understand?

The Plaintiff's complaints have been dismissed and amendments cannot be filed.

Gamina wrote:It's about as layman as it can get.

I missed putting in the sarcasm emoticon? Okay, what I gather is that the public's attempt to recover those fees the airlines unfairly charge us was unsuccessful and they can therefore continue to screw us. Correct?

I have never been charged this tax on various airlines for tickets purchased online or in person in Mexico.  Of course that is using a Mexican passport, but I think if you are a residente, temporary or permanent, the same would apply. I also know a permanent Canadian resident and they haven't been charged either. Check with your travel agent or the airline before booking and paying for the ticket.

Delta might be the only culprit, as I haven't used them, but British Airways, Air France, Aeromexico, and Iberia hasn't tried it on American citizens that are permanente, and I know personally, that fly out of Mexico.

slainte39 wrote:I have never been charged this tax on various airlines for tickets purchased online or in person in Mexico.  Of course that is using a Mexican passport, but I think if you are a residente, temporary or permanent, the same would apply. I also know a permanent Canadian resident and they haven't been charged either. Check with your travel agent or the airline before booking and paying for the ticket.

Good idea.  We checked, and didn't pay the fee.  

BTW, I was only kidding around about Clueless' passing out the information in "legalese". Maybe we need a new emoticon with a big sign saying "I'm not being serious here".

I don't know what the fuss is all about. All you have to do (if you were charged for it) is request a refund from the airline after the fact. You will need to attach a scan of your temporale or permanente card and the airline will reimburse your credit card. I just booked an Air Canada flight and in speaking with the reservations agent about this, she was unable to delete it at time of booking.

gringal wrote:

slainte39 wrote:I have never been charged this tax on various airlines for tickets purchased online or in person in Mexico.  Of course that is using a Mexican passport, but I think if you are a residente, temporary or permanent, the same would apply. I also know a permanent Canadian resident and they haven't been charged either. Check with your travel agent or the airline before booking and paying for the ticket.

Good idea.  We checked, and didn't pay the fee.  Many others have had different experiences. I was only kidding around about Clueless' passing out the information in "legalese".  

Maybe clueless would like to keep everyone clueless.

I got stuck in a lawsuit many years ago and the documents approached the clarity of being in a language not spoken on this planet.

Some of the laws on the books in the U.S. are like that, too.

First, it is not only Delta, it's all the airlines that do this.

Second, you have to look for the code for the Mx FMT and that code is "UK." Don't ask why.

Sometimes, if you search long enough and go deep enough into the airline website (usually 4 layers), you can find a breakdown of the total cost, and that will include the fees for everything past the base fare.

The real problem stems from the ADA (Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. This almost totally blocked passengers from suing the airlines for anything having to do with "'Rates, Routes or Services." The only exceptions are (sometimes) negligence resulting in great bodily hars (a crash or such) and where the airline breaches a provision of it's "Contract of Carriage;" in other words, breach of contract, and that exception has been eroded over the years.

As to the specific case, I spoke personally to one of the attorneys involved and among other things, wished them luck.

I only know of one instance where "someone" sued two airlines (2006) and beat them in Federal Court. That's all I can say; that's all I will say.

Everything above is FWIW

Only the DOT can do anything, and it won't do anything for any individual flyer, so that leaves "you" with no recourse to the courts. Sometimes the DOT, when it gets enough complaints, will promulgate rules (such as anything over 4 hours on the tarmac gets you X,Y and Z, or the Passenger's Bill of Rights.

But other than that, you're screwed; and FYI, the airlines are making record profits today (especially with oil prices down) with all the fees they have added over the last few years.