Originally Posted by
SwissRef
If this applies to the EU getting rid of "Fuel Surcharges" and the like (and making them part of the actual fare - I'm in favour. Either it is necessary (and I am sure Fuel is
) and in the main fare or it is optional (not necessary) so can be an "add-on". It must be possible to actually fly at the advertised Fare.
And I would also like them to say: If it isn't in the "Fare" portion of the final total, then it must be refundable. I hate the fact that on (any) airline you cancel a flight, and the fare is non-refundable (fair enough), but the fuel surcharge is non-refundable, the X,Y,Z is non-refunable and the "admin fee" is equal to the Government taxes....
No, this isn't what the EC is saying. They are saying that all prices displayed in advertising and in fare quote systems must be inclusive of all non-optional Taxes, Fees, and Charges.
This means if airline ZZ has a fare of CHF100 and a fuel surcharge of CHF1000 they can't advertise / show in their fare quote system a price lower than CHF1100.
Airlines use 'fuel surcharges' for one simple reason. Changing fares is expensive. Each fare has to be updated in published tariffs, in GDS/CRS fare quote systems and in advertising. While the cost of each change is a portion of a cent (any currency) airlines have millions of fares, meaning to update each and everyone of their fares costs in the 100s of thousands of (pick your currency). Changing a surcharge costs maybe $100. So if you are going to increase/decrease your surcharge amount every month, both up and down, the cost savings are significant.
So, in their view, the fuel surcharge is part of the fare and if your ticket is non-refundable, this component is also non-refundable. Same thing if you cancel a nonref ticket that has a stopover charge component - it too isn't refundable, because it is part of the fare.
Stuff that goes to third parties (such as government imposed taxes) are refundable (and yes, some airlines impose a high service charge for doing so) but stuff that goes to the airline usually carry the same conditions as the base fare.