I am constantly on the look out for cheap flights to Hawaii.
Last year, I thought I had struck gold when I happened upon a roundtrip, non-stop fare from Chicago to Honolulu for a mere $500. Turns out the actual retail price after taxes and mandatory fees was a not-so wonderful $665.
How is that possible?
I didn’t bother doing the math to determine the exact breakdown of the additional costs. Rather, I chocked it up to the chokehold the airline industry has on consumers and went about sulking.
Fast-forward six months and I’ve turned that frown upside down.
According to the feds, commercial carriers will no longer be able to entice unsuspecting customers with cheap fares, and then shock them with a final cost that is higher than the advertised price.
Beginning January 26th the U.S. Transportation Department is instituting a new rule which forces airlines to disclose all charges that apply to a plane ticket. Currently, all that is mandated is a link or footnote to fee details.
In other words, if you go to Southwest Airlines’ website right now, you may see a price quote of $100 for a flight from Dallas to Los Angeles. However, come Thursday, the airline will have to show the total fare, including taxes and fees, which could raise the price to between $120 and $130. Government and airport charges can add at the very least 20 percent to the price of an airline ticket.
Obviously, the airlines are not happy with the move. Their main complaint is that other industries don’t have to include taxes, and they worry that consumers may think that they are raising fares.
Personally, I’d rather airlines post the total price of my ticket rather than leading me on. Tell me the actual price from the get-go and let me decide if I want to pay it instead of posting misleading fares.
Do you think the new rule will depress air travel?
Related Articles:
New Airline Fees–Keeping it Straight
More Bad News for Cash Strapped Flyers