Biden wants to clamp down on airlines charging hidden fees, which can lead to families spending hundreds of dollars more than they planned

• President Biden has announced new proposals to help customers find the best flight deals.
• Under new proposals, airlines would have to tell customers the total ticket cost upfront.

President Joe Biden has set out proposals designed to make booking flights a fairer and more transparent process.

Under the plans, announced Monday, airlines would be required to disclose the total cost of a flight the first time it is listed rather than adding hidden fees on top of the original fare.

Airlines often charge customers additional fees to check baggage, choose seats, or alter flights after they have selected a flight based on its ticket price alone. The fees can lead to people paying hundreds of dollars more than they'd planned.

"Today the Department of Transportation (DoT) is releasing new rules to require airlines and search websites to disclose these fees upfront, so you have a choice to go to the airline that doesn't charge the fee to change," Biden said during a White House Competition Council meeting.

"Airline passengers deserve to know the full, true cost of their flights before they buy a ticket," the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, added in a separate statement.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposals once they're published in the Federal Register. They will then have to be finalized, a process that can take months. If approved, the new rules would apply to any carrier or third-party ticket agent listing flights into, from, and within the US.

Biden's announcement follows a summer of chaos that was marked by cancellations and delays for many air passengers.

In September, the DoT launched a specialist dashboard, which breaks down a passenger's rights and options when an airline cancels their flight.