Passengers want airlines to stop hiding charges and include costs up front in the headline price of the ticket, shows Which? Holiday research released today. Seventy seven per cent of Which? members surveyed by the magazine think the cost of checking a bag into the hold should be included in the advertised price of an…
Passengers urge airlines to stop hiding extra charges
Passengers want airlines to stop hiding charges and include costs up front in the headline price of the ticket, shows Which? Holiday research released today.
Seventy seven per cent of Which? members surveyed by the magazine think the cost of checking a bag into the hold should be included in the advertised price of an airline ticket, and three quarters thought fees to use the check-in desk should also be included in the price. 69 per cent thought debit and credit card charges should be included up front.
Although new rules introduced by the EU at the end of last year require airlines to quote all non-optional taxes and charges in the advertised cost of a ticket, some airlines still aren’t doing this – yet over nine in ten people surveyed thought the advertised price should include government taxes and charges.
Lorna Cowan, editor of Which? Holiday, said: “Airlines may argue that they are being fairer to customers who don’t use these services.
“But, in reality, how many people don’t use a credit or debit card to pay for their flights, or travel without luggage? These aren’t extra services, but part and parcel of taking a flight, so airlines would be fairer to their customers by including them in the price up front.”
More information:
A survey of 1,641 Which? online panel members who had taken a flight in the last year were asked in November and December 2008 what aspects of airline tickets should definitely be included in the advertised price.
* Which?
