Susie
08-14-2007, 03:25 AM
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/09/nair109.xml
Airlines ordered to reveal full price of tickets
By David Millward, Transport Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:40am BST 14/08/2007
Airlines have been ordered to end passenger confusion over fares by displaying the full price of plane tickets on their websites.
Airlines complain over 'poor' BAA airports
David Millward: Airlines and the internet
The Office of Fair Trading ordered 13 airlines to fall into line in a ruling which will apply to any carrier using UK airports. Already 11 airlines have complied with the ruling in full.
Eleven airlines have changed their ads and websites
Two more, Ryanair and Aer Lingus have agreed to do so, but said that technical difficulties meant that it would take a few months to complete the work.
In a separate but co-ordinated move, the Association of British Travel Agents, which represents 90 per cent of the package tour market, said it will take action against any of its members who mislead passengers over the cost of their holidays.
The issue of the way in which airlines – especially "low-cost" airlines quote their prices on the internet has been a long-running sore in the travel industry for many years.
Consumer groups and trading standards officers complained that passengers were being misled by airlines who quoted as cheap a fare as possible on their website home pages – only adding the additional taxes and charges later in the booking process.
In the case of Ryanair, for example, additional taxes and charges could be as high as £25.20 – considerably more than the "lead in" price quoted on the internet.
Two years ago the airline was fined £24,000 following action by trading standards officers because some of its web pages did not warn that ticket prices were subject to extra charges.
The OFT signalled its readiness to act in February amid a welter of complaints from consumers over the way in which the cost of flights and holidays escalated.
Fuel surcharge, for example could add £260 to the cost of a holiday or flight for a family of four.
The OFT also found one airline which charged double the advertised fare of £19.99 for a flight to Barcelona, once all the extra charges were taken into account.
Airlines climbed down after the OFT made clear that it would take out a court order to make them comply.
Should any carrier fail to do so, they could face a potentially huge fine for contempt of court.
The carriers complying with today’s OFT ruling are: easyJet, bmibaby, Flybe, Thomsonfly, flythomascook Monarch, Jet2, Globespan, Wizz Air, Sky Europe and Germanwings.
British Airways welcomed the ruling, saying it was committed to price transparency.
"We were the first airline to introduce all-inclusive fares from the beginning of the booking process on ba.com in 2005," a spokesman said.
"We fully support an industry-wide move to all inclusive pricing for all European airlines."
Airlines ordered to reveal full price of tickets
By David Millward, Transport Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:40am BST 14/08/2007
Airlines have been ordered to end passenger confusion over fares by displaying the full price of plane tickets on their websites.
Airlines complain over 'poor' BAA airports
David Millward: Airlines and the internet
The Office of Fair Trading ordered 13 airlines to fall into line in a ruling which will apply to any carrier using UK airports. Already 11 airlines have complied with the ruling in full.
Eleven airlines have changed their ads and websites
Two more, Ryanair and Aer Lingus have agreed to do so, but said that technical difficulties meant that it would take a few months to complete the work.
In a separate but co-ordinated move, the Association of British Travel Agents, which represents 90 per cent of the package tour market, said it will take action against any of its members who mislead passengers over the cost of their holidays.
The issue of the way in which airlines – especially "low-cost" airlines quote their prices on the internet has been a long-running sore in the travel industry for many years.
Consumer groups and trading standards officers complained that passengers were being misled by airlines who quoted as cheap a fare as possible on their website home pages – only adding the additional taxes and charges later in the booking process.
In the case of Ryanair, for example, additional taxes and charges could be as high as £25.20 – considerably more than the "lead in" price quoted on the internet.
Two years ago the airline was fined £24,000 following action by trading standards officers because some of its web pages did not warn that ticket prices were subject to extra charges.
The OFT signalled its readiness to act in February amid a welter of complaints from consumers over the way in which the cost of flights and holidays escalated.
Fuel surcharge, for example could add £260 to the cost of a holiday or flight for a family of four.
The OFT also found one airline which charged double the advertised fare of £19.99 for a flight to Barcelona, once all the extra charges were taken into account.
Airlines climbed down after the OFT made clear that it would take out a court order to make them comply.
Should any carrier fail to do so, they could face a potentially huge fine for contempt of court.
The carriers complying with today’s OFT ruling are: easyJet, bmibaby, Flybe, Thomsonfly, flythomascook Monarch, Jet2, Globespan, Wizz Air, Sky Europe and Germanwings.
British Airways welcomed the ruling, saying it was committed to price transparency.
"We were the first airline to introduce all-inclusive fares from the beginning of the booking process on ba.com in 2005," a spokesman said.
"We fully support an industry-wide move to all inclusive pricing for all European airlines."