Eu Orders Airlines To Come Clean Over Fares

[Rinrada]

EU orders airlines to come clean over fares

Doncha just hate these dreaded words..... exclude Taxes ...examples....however

Those days may be over SOON...

Jul 15, 2006 TO Aug 15, 2006 Heathrow (LHR) TO BKK , Thailand £ 649 RTN

exclude Taxes

Aug 16, 2006 TO Nov 30, 2006 Heathrow (LHR) TO BKK , Thailand £ 349 RTN

exclude Taxes

Dec 01, 2006 TO Dec 08, 2006 Heathrow (LHR) TO BKK , Thailand £ 489 RTN

exclude Taxes

Dec 09, 2006 TO Dec 24, 2006 Heathrow (LHR) TO BKK , Thailand £ 649 RTN

exclude Taxes

Recently saw what looked like not a bad fare to LOS on Royal Wotits Airline @ £ 240 quid but lurking in the small print was the extras of..£190...

EVA was cheaper and direct.....

Hopefully those days will be over soon...from EU...........Just give us the FARE. and stop wasting time.....

so...

EU orders airlines to come clean over fares

By Ginny McGrath (with thanks)

Airlines will be banned from publishing fares that do not include all extra charges under legislation proposed today.

The legislation has been drafted by the European Commission to force airlines to publish fares in full, rather than stripping out taxes and charges. The aim is to enable travellers to easily compare fares between airlines, according to European Commission transport chief, Jacques Barrot, who announced the proposals.

If approved, the new law is unlikely to affect British Airways, which quotes fares on its website that include all charges, but it would force Ryanair and easyJet to change their strategies, as both airlines currently display fares that do not include taxes and charges until a late stage in the online booking process.

The Commission claims that airlines should publish the full price of tickets on advertising or whenever a fare is published, but the efficiency of the ruling will depend on the detail in the wording – Ryanair claims that it already offers passengers transparency by detailing the breakdown of taxes and charges, even if it is not given until a late stage.

In a briefing with the Commission in Brussels today, transport officials assured consumers that the legislation would stipulate that full fares be quoted on airline websites wherever published, not just at the end of the booking.

Taxes and charges regularly make up a large proportion of the cost of air tickets. A search for Ryanair flights to Berlin for a weekend break in September, advertised today on the carrier’s homepage as starting from 19 pence, returned a peak time fare (departing Friday evening, returning Sunday evening) of £149.98, plus further charges of £28.63, made up of government taxes, insurance, wheelchair levies and a passenger service charge. In addition, passengers must pay a £5-per-bag charge to check luggage into the hold and fees of £1.75 to book using a credit card.

In a statement that welcomes the proposed legislation, the bumptious carrier berates its rivals for adding fuel surcharges, claiming it is committed to not introducing fuel surcharges. However, in a recent interview with Times Online Travel, easyJet accused Ryanair of introducing a fuel surcharge of more than £5 “by stealth”, claiming that the airline inflated wheelchair charges to cover the cost of fuel. Figures revealed by easyJet last month showed that while easyJet’s “insurance and wheelchair costs” came to £1.52 per passenger per return flight, Ryanair’s came to £6.96 — almost 80 per cent more.

The legislation is not expected to affect airline advertising on billboards, newspapers and other media, which is already governed by a ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority, stipulating that advertised fares must include all taxes and charges.

In addition to practicing greater transparency over fares, the European Commission has proposed an end to discrimination on air fares based on residence, which will outlaw the current practice by airlines of selling tickets on a single route at varying prices in different markets.

The initiatives are part of a wider plan by the European Commission to introduce consistent legislation governing the airlines of all EU member states. It could come into effect from autumn 2007 if approved by MEPs.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/uk/