Cheap flight charges getting ‘out of control’
Research by Britain’s Air Transport Users Council (AUC) highlights how taxes, fees and charges (TFCs) have increased significantly in recent years as a proportion of the total cost of air travel.
The organisation has warned consumers that airlines could think up even more charges to seek a competitive advantage over rival carriers.
“The only way to seemingly safeguard the interest of passengers who book via airlines’ websites is for airlines to quote fares inclusive of TFCs on their websites,” the report concludes.
It states that while a third party might impose some of the TFCs (such as airport taxes) on airlines, large proportion of the TFCs could be considered the cost of doing business.
The AUC claims that although the level of TFCs has grown, the total prices for consumers has not necessarily increased too. It also concluded that the cost of TFCs is now more than the basic fare on many flights.
The organisation points out that airlines which don’t include the cost of TFCs in advertising can appear to offer more competitive air fares than their rivals, even though the total cost in fact remains the same.
It also advised consumers to be aware that TFCs can differ between airlines even operating on the same identical routes. According to the survey, Ryanair customers paid more than twice as much in TFCs than Easyjet customers on the London Stansted-Valencia route.
“Consumers are often not aware of the total inclusive price until they are a long way into the booking process, when they are likely to have chosen their flight and are just about to confirm the booking,” it warns.
The AUC expressed concern that passengers who were enticed to book with airlines with low base fares were ultimately faced with “a total that bears little resemblance to the figures quoted previously.”
The survey observed that many consumers mistakenly assumed that all or most TFCs were outside the control of individual airlines.
The AUC also claimed that TFCs appear to bear no direct relationship to the actual costs incurred by carriers. For example, passengers have no guarantee that recent fuel surcharges imposed by airlines correlate with actual recent increases in the price of oil.
The AUC noted British Airways recently imposed a £4 surcharge on all European flights due to rising fuel costs but actually reduced the basic cost by the same amount.
It also criticised Ryanair for imposing “a wheelchair surcharge” of €3.28 on all passengers on each flight, even though most do not require the use of a wheelchair.
Online booking fees were also identified as another charge over which consumers had no control. In Ireland, Ryanair charge €2.50 for each single journey booked by credit card, while Aer Lingus charges 4 per booking.
In contrast, the AUC noted that Ryanair’s main budget carrier rival, Easyjet had appeared reluctant to follow the trend set by other airlines. The AUC complimented Easyjet for consistently lowering the proportion of TFCs that make up its total price.
A spokesperson for Easyjet said company policy was “to concentrate efforts towards offering lower total fares” so that passengers would have “no surprises” when they booked.
The AUC expressed disappointment that in a recent prosecution against Ryanair, an English court ruled it was acceptable for airlines to advertise flights excluding TFCs so long as the fact was made clear to consumers.
“Simply adding phrases as ‘excluding tax’ is not sufficient information for passengers as they would have little idea how much the ‘tax’ is likely to be,” said an AUC spokesperson.
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