Archive for the ‘Air Fare’ Category:
No More Asterisks On Fare Ads
Say what you want about big government consumer watchdogs – increasing information transparency in business transactions makes markets more efficient. Telling someone that they can fly from Albuquerque to Tucson for 59 dollars only to find an 80 dollar fare plus add-ons for everything from baggage, talking to an agent, to requesting a paper boarding pass – this just goes over the top of any ethical disclosure standard.
* additional fees and taxes apply
According to a recent article from the L.A. Times: New rule requires air fare ads to include taxes and fees, starting Jan. 26, no more asterisks. A new U.S. Transportation Department rule requires all advertised air fares to include any compulsory taxes and fees, including fuel charges and the Sept. 11 Security Fee.
At Social Flights, we go a step further – we will tell you the time tax that you pay by not using point-to-point direct private service. For example; if your cheap fare takes two connection flights, with long waits, parking and airport fees plus extra overnights, we will happily tell you that if the value of your time is more than X dollars per hour, then we are cheaper. We can take you there in 3 hours instead of 13…but I digress.
“The price advertising provision was adopted to make sure passengers know the full amount they will have to pay for air transportation when they buy a ticket,” said agency spokesman Bill Mosley.
It’s all about money and time
If anything, quoting a true cost in any form – dollars AND time – provides the traveler with a broader way of thinking about competing options. Many short flights have a true speed of less than 60 miles per hour. The customer needs to be able to compare with the cost of driving. If there are several overnights involved, the traveler needs to be able to measure those costs against taking a train and sleeping car. Of course, private air travel on a shared charter jet holds a distinct segment of the value proposition.
The airlines also described the new rule as “arbitrary and capricious” because the practice of advertising fees and taxes separately has been used for years by “virtually every other industry in the United States.”
Passengers held captive
The airlines may have a good point – although we would prefer that they held themselves to a higher standard than “every other industry”. The fear is that if they quote the true cost, then people would look for alternatives while they still have time … before they are held captive. See, it’s all about money and time.