£9.99 fare, Sir? Certainly, that will be £46.30, please
Guest
Posts: n/a
£9.99 fare, Sir? Certainly, that will be £46.30, please
In a move announced today, the EU are cracking down on the advertising of rock-bottom airfares then loading them with taxes, charges and fees.
Is there *anything* that can be said in favour of this practice?
Is there *anything* that can be said in favour of this practice?
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 85
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
airnz was recently growled for this practice, and now advertises all included prices, however i have today bought a ticket to europe, and the e-ticket shows as $1999, plus taxes and levies of $415.
There's a lot to be said against regulating it away.
Wrapping the entire populace of the European Union in cottonwool, for example.
What's the difference between
advertising a low fare and publishing government/airport charges/fees/taxes on a website
and
offering a trade-in rebate of "Up to €5000" and then having to read through the small print to find that you only qualify for 54c?
Life's complicated. Get used to it
Wrapping the entire populace of the European Union in cottonwool, for example.
What's the difference between
advertising a low fare and publishing government/airport charges/fees/taxes on a website
and
offering a trade-in rebate of "Up to €5000" and then having to read through the small print to find that you only qualify for 54c?
Life's complicated. Get used to it
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: UAE
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I for one do not agree that "taxes, etc." should amount to more than the basic amount.
The other day, I requested air fares for DXB-KHI on various carriers. EK had (not surprisingly) the most expensive fare, but to my astonishment, QR offered the lowest at only Dhs 450. However, they also levied the highest "taxes" (or whatever goes under that heading in UAE) at a whopping Dhs 540
, making them the most expensive choice.
Clearly, nobody in their right mind would expect or accept the tax component to be higher than the principal amount.
The other day, I requested air fares for DXB-KHI on various carriers. EK had (not surprisingly) the most expensive fare, but to my astonishment, QR offered the lowest at only Dhs 450. However, they also levied the highest "taxes" (or whatever goes under that heading in UAE) at a whopping Dhs 540
, making them the most expensive choice.Clearly, nobody in their right mind would expect or accept the tax component to be higher than the principal amount.
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: UK
Posts: 52
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Taxes are unavoidable, and they change depending on the carrier, amongst others it may depend on which handler the company use (handling charges), the airport they fly to (landing fees), if the aircraft has an entertainment system which will warrent a fuel surcharge as the plane will be heavier.
A flight with a budget carrier may originaly cost 99p, in which case it would be silly not to expect the taxes to be less than this.
On the other hand, there is the "Administration Fee" or something like it which seems to me like a profit booster
I think advertising prices without taxes is fine, providing it is clear that taxes will be added before you commit yourself.
WoolyAlan
A flight with a budget carrier may originaly cost 99p, in which case it would be silly not to expect the taxes to be less than this.
On the other hand, there is the "Administration Fee" or something like it which seems to me like a profit booster
I think advertising prices without taxes is fine, providing it is clear that taxes will be added before you commit yourself.
WoolyAlan
Originally Posted by woolyalan
Taxes are unavoidable, ....... amongst others it may depend on which handler the company use (handling charges), the airport they fly to (landing fees), if the aircraft has an entertainment system which will warrent a fuel surcharge as the plane will be heavier.
WoolyAlan
WoolyAlan
We're talking about airport taxes (if not directly debited to the passenger on departure), security charges and suchlike levied by airports and government bodies.
And I still maintain that if the information is provided at POS, the European Commission should use its time and resources for more important things.
Like drafting regulations for banana curvature or similar
The price you see should be the price you have to pay. Any non-compulsory fees etc (eg paying by credit card) obviously shouldn't be put into the overall fee unless the airline gives you no choice other than to pay those fees.
I have no problem with airlines giving me a full breakdown of how the fare is made up when I come to pay it but when I search for the cheapest flight I want to be able to see it without having to go through the whole booking process.
When I buy petrol I don't see the price as being 20p per litre and then when I go to the till it magically becomes 96p per litre. When I buy clothes I don't see a £10 t-shirt becoming £11.75 at the till so why should it be any different with flights?
I have no problem with airlines giving me a full breakdown of how the fare is made up when I come to pay it but when I search for the cheapest flight I want to be able to see it without having to go through the whole booking process.
When I buy petrol I don't see the price as being 20p per litre and then when I go to the till it magically becomes 96p per litre. When I buy clothes I don't see a £10 t-shirt becoming £11.75 at the till so why should it be any different with flights?
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: london
Posts: 331
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
James I couldn't agree with you more. The sooner this tosh is regulated out the better. Sure, some in the industry will throw their toys out the pram, but I really believe new legislation is urgently needed to address the current regulatory imbalance which favours the airlines in almost all scenarios.
The like of ryanair and Easy regularly shout about how cheap they are, so what do they have to hide? let's get the WHOLE price upfront, and then we'll see how cheap they are (or not).
The like of ryanair and Easy regularly shout about how cheap they are, so what do they have to hide? let's get the WHOLE price upfront, and then we'll see how cheap they are (or not).
Guest
Posts: n/a
If you go, for example, to the BMI website, you will see on the homepage an electronic billboard offering flights to Amsterdam, Dublin, etc from £25 *including fees and charges*
If you go into the booking engine, you will see these flights listed, from £7 *excluding fees and charges*. It's only when you have selected the flights will it tell you how much you owe.
If they can advertise net fares on their home page, why on earth can't they put net fares into the booking engine?
If you go into the booking engine, you will see these flights listed, from £7 *excluding fees and charges*. It's only when you have selected the flights will it tell you how much you owe.
If they can advertise net fares on their home page, why on earth can't they put net fares into the booking engine?
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 32°55'22"S 151°46'56"E
Age: 39
Posts: 594
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Hence if i'm booking flights for myself I usually do my search via opodo or expedia for instance to find the actual total price, then goto the airline websites afterwards.
Paxing All Over The World
I am fascinated by the way in which credit card surcharges can be such a major part of the fee. I don't wish to blame FR for everything but it was probably them that notched the surcharge so high and the others, seeing that FR got away with it, then followed. Of course, FR were just supplementing their artificially low head-line price. Other carries had no such excuse!
Interestingly, on a trip just booked with BA (Berlin £145 all up) I was charged £3 for using a credit card - even though it was the BA AmEx card
. However, when I booked the airport parking with APH - and used the same card - they only made a surcharge of .28p! Now, I know that these charges are often a percentage of the total (as that is how the card company bill the merchant) but the BA one was a fixed price.
Interestingly, on a trip just booked with BA (Berlin £145 all up) I was charged £3 for using a credit card - even though it was the BA AmEx card
. However, when I booked the airport parking with APH - and used the same card - they only made a surcharge of .28p! Now, I know that these charges are often a percentage of the total (as that is how the card company bill the merchant) but the BA one was a fixed price.
Riding the Euro Gravy Plane
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Strasbourg
Posts: 455
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Paxboy
That's an interesting point about credit card charges, I've been charged by a small number of airlines for using my card to pay for flights and I wouldn't have any objection to this if I had a choice of another payment method where I wasn't charged, if there isn't any choice then the credit card surchage is another hidden fee which should be included in the advertised price.
With the likes of FR and BA is there still a charge if you use a UK based debit card rather than a credit card ? I'm using a French based card but it's a debit card and not a credit card and FR still make a charge. On my statement FR payments seem to be made in Ireland so I imagine they treat debit card holders the same whether in UK, France or where ever....
Airlines want people to book via the net rather than calling them so it seems a bit rich to levy such a charge....
That's an interesting point about credit card charges, I've been charged by a small number of airlines for using my card to pay for flights and I wouldn't have any objection to this if I had a choice of another payment method where I wasn't charged, if there isn't any choice then the credit card surchage is another hidden fee which should be included in the advertised price.
With the likes of FR and BA is there still a charge if you use a UK based debit card rather than a credit card ? I'm using a French based card but it's a debit card and not a credit card and FR still make a charge. On my statement FR payments seem to be made in Ireland so I imagine they treat debit card holders the same whether in UK, France or where ever....
Airlines want people to book via the net rather than calling them so it seems a bit rich to levy such a charge....
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Age: 64
Posts: 191
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I initially reacted to this story thinking, "what the hell difference will it make?". But, then after thinking a bit more, there may be a need to regulate the way these fares are quoted. Recent experience booking two flights with FR, illustrated the fact that extra charges do creep in during the booking procedure, of which I felt I received inadequate warning.
I am not complaining that the end result is too high, but I would really like it to be clear before entering the procedure, what exactly I am expected to pay. I don't believe the current system operated by locos does that.
Before BA and other "premium" carriers crow too loudly about this, they should note that it is likely this will actually increase the pressure on them to do something about their fare structures themselves.
I am not complaining that the end result is too high, but I would really like it to be clear before entering the procedure, what exactly I am expected to pay. I don't believe the current system operated by locos does that.
Before BA and other "premium" carriers crow too loudly about this, they should note that it is likely this will actually increase the pressure on them to do something about their fare structures themselves.
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: In the dark
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by SXB
Paxboy
Airlines want people to book via the net rather than calling them so it seems a bit rich to levy such a charge....
Airlines want people to book via the net rather than calling them so it seems a bit rich to levy such a charge....
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Newbury, UK
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by The SSK
If you go, for example, to the BMI website, you will see on the homepage an electronic billboard offering flights to Amsterdam, Dublin, etc from £25 *including fees and charges*
If you go into the booking engine, you will see these flights listed, from £7 *excluding fees and charges*. It's only when you have selected the flights will it tell you how much you owe.
If they can advertise net fares on their home page, why on earth can't they put net fares into the booking engine?
If you go into the booking engine, you will see these flights listed, from £7 *excluding fees and charges*. It's only when you have selected the flights will it tell you how much you owe.
If they can advertise net fares on their home page, why on earth can't they put net fares into the booking engine?
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Essex
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Surely no one believes that the price that is displayed at the end of a web air- fare booking session is somehow more deceitful than the shock of the take it, or leave it random rail fare quoted at the local station.
I think the EU should leave off hounding the airlines for a while and sort out the UK rail network's fares and travelling conditions.
I think the EU should leave off hounding the airlines for a while and sort out the UK rail network's fares and travelling conditions.
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: UK
Posts: 1,114
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think one of the main issues that the EU has with the airlines is the fact that you seem to get through to the final stages of booking before you actually findout how much it is going to cost you. Some people will click and accept regardless as they might have spent 5-10 minutes already and not wish to start over again on another carriers website. Having the full price up front at the first search page on the website would make it much more transparent.
As an aside my "favourite charge" is the online booking fee that Aer Lingus add on for you taking the time to go online and saving them the cost of paying a travel agent employing or reservations clerk to take your booking. Nice if you can get it! Of course this gets added on pretty late in the booking process.
As an aside my "favourite charge" is the online booking fee that Aer Lingus add on for you taking the time to go online and saving them the cost of paying a travel agent employing or reservations clerk to take your booking. Nice if you can get it! Of course this gets added on pretty late in the booking process.
Last edited by potkettleblack; 20th Jul 2006 at 15:22.
Paxing All Over The World
The supermarkets are doing the same. "Use our self-service checkouts and yourself save time" translated as "Use our self-service checkouts and save us lots of money".
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 243
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by 10secondsurvey
James I couldn't agree with you more. The sooner this tosh is regulated out the better. Sure, some in the industry will throw their toys out the pram, but I really believe new legislation is urgently needed to address the current regulatory imbalance which favours the airlines in almost all scenarios.
The like of ryanair and Easy regularly shout about how cheap they are, so what do they have to hide? let's get the WHOLE price upfront, and then we'll see how cheap they are (or not).
The like of ryanair and Easy regularly shout about how cheap they are, so what do they have to hide? let's get the WHOLE price upfront, and then we'll see how cheap they are (or not).
If you are driving down the street and you see an Easy ad for a flight for £43.30 inc tax next to a Ryan ad for £9.99 ex tax to the same destination, the Ryanair add will be a little more eye catching.
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Liverpool based Geordie, so calm down, calm down kidda!!
Age: 60
Posts: 2,051
Likes: 0
Received 17 Likes
on
6 Posts
Shopping in the USA and many other countries is not as straightforward as in the UK. You have to add taxes at the till. Is this not the same?