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Opinion of O'Connor, J.
did not " 'create any new laws or regulations' applying to the airline industry; rather, they claim[ed] to 'explain in detail how existing state laws apply to air fare advertising and frequent flyer programs.' " Morales, 504 U. S., at 379. Nonetheless, we stated our holding quite clearly: "We hold that the fare advertising provisions of the NAAG guidelines are pre-empted by [§ 1305]." Id., at 391. How can it be that the guidelines, which did not themselves constitute "law," were nonetheless pre-empted by a statute whose coverage is limited to "laws" or other "provision[s] having the force and effect of law"? The answer is that in Morales we held that an action to invoke the State's coercive power against an airline, by means of a generally applicable law, when the subject matter of the action related to airline rates, would constitute "Stat[e] . . . enforce[ment]" of a "law . . . relating to rates, routes, or services." Id., at 383 (internal quotation marks omitted). Accordingly, we held that § 1305 preempted the action. It is not the case, as Justice Stevens urges, that Morales was limited to "airline-specific advertising standards." Ante, at 236. We examined the content of those standards—which had no binding force on their own— only to ascertain whether they "related to" airline rates (and we thought they "quite obviously" did). Morales, supra, at 387. The only "laws" at issue in Morales were generally applicable consumer fraud statutes, not facially related to airlines, much like the law at issue in respondents' consumer fraud claims here.
The Court concludes, however, that § 1305 does not preempt enforcement, by means of generally applicable state law, of a private agreement relating to airline rates and services. I cannot distinguish this case from Morales. In both, the subject matter of the action (the guidelines in Morales, the contract here) relates to airline rates and services. In both, that subject matter has no legal force, except insofar as a generally applicable state law (a consumer fraud law in
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