Airlines now have to fully disclose the “all in” price of fares when advertising them (although a la carte items such as baggage fees don’t have to be disclosed.  As you can imagine, airlines hate this.  They fear the consumer will perceive the prices now advertised as a massive increase in air fares. 

It’s possible that the leisure traveler might but I think airlines aren’t giving consumers enough credit for intelligence.  Shopping for air fares has been convuluted at best and consumers know this already.  Making the full cost including taxes and fees a requirement for advertising lets the consumer know the true cost of their trip and given the cost of flying these days, making such a purchase is no trivial decision.

When I see airlines saying things like Mcdonald’s doesn’t have to reveal the full cost of a Big Mac, I get frustrated.  It isn’t the same thing and air fares shouldn’t be compared to the price of a Big Mac.  In many cases, a family traveling can be spending the equivalent of a new sofa on their air fares and that’s a big purchase for most.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax